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R 20 1885 




The Ansoi..- 



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FRONTISPIECE. 



THE ANSONS 



IN 



pSIATIG ©EMPLES. 



HY 



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REV. FRANK S. DOBBINS. 







PHILADELPHIA 



i^meriean Baptist publicalsion ^ocielij, 



THE ANSONS 



IN 



ASIATIC TEMPLES. 





BY 




EEV. FEANK S. 


DOBBINS. 


/S"" 


■ --^ ^ 




1 Mf 


IR 20 


1805 ^> 


X: 


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PHILADELPHIA : 

AMEKICAN BAPTIST PUBLICATION SOCIETY, 

1420 Chestnut Street. 






y^- 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1885, by the 

AMERICAN BAPTIST PUBLICATION SOCIETY, 
In the Oflfice of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. 



> 



CONTENTS. 



PAGE. 

CHAPTER I. 
Setting Out on the Journey 7 



CHAPTER II. 
A Tricycle Trip to Asakusa, Tokio 23 

CHAPTER III. 
An Afternoon in Shiba, Tokio 38 

CHAPTER IV. 
A JiN-RiKi-sHA Jaunt to Dai Butz 54 

CHAPTER V. 
Over the Mountains to Kioto 71 

3 



4 CONTENTS. 

PAGE. 

CHAPTER VI. 
The Sacred City op Kioto 86 



CHAPTER YII. 
To THE Land of Teas and Queues. 102 

CHAPTER VIII. 
From Shanghai to Pekin 118 

CHAPTER IX. 

The story of " Chinese Gordon." 137 

CHAPTER X. 
Housekeeping in Canton 152 

CHAPTER XL 
In the Land of the White Elephant 171 

CHAPTER XIL 
Under the Shadow of Shway Dagon 187 

CHAPTER XIIL 
From Rangoon to Madras 205 



CONTENTS. 5 



PAGE 



CHAPTER XIV. 
Juggernaut and Kali 221 

CHAPTER XV. 
Overland Through India 242 

CHAPTER XVI. 
In Moslem Lands 260 

CHAPTER XVn. 
The Invalid's Journey Home 274 



THE 

ANSONS IN ASIATIC TEMPLES. 



CHAPTER I. 

SETTING OUT ON THE JOURNEY. 

rriHE Hoyt Mission Band had just closed its 
meeting. As the little folks stood about, 
putting on their coats and hats, it was very- 
evident that something had greatly excited 
them. There was an unusual bustle and stir, 
as the tongues were wagging in a much livelier 
manner than during the meeting just closed; 
and there was good reason for it, as we shall 
see. 

Bertie and Bessie Anson had been living in 
Alton for six years past. Their father was the 
Pastor of the First Church. Just before coming 

to Alton he had been greatly moved by the 

7 



8 THE ANSONS IN ASIATIC TEMPLES. 

speech of a returned missionary, and had de- 
termined to give himself to the work of win- 
ning the Chinese to Christ. But his physician 
told him that he was not strong enough to stand 
a life-long residence in that country, and he was 
forced to give up his cherished purpose. 

When he settled in Alton, he determined to 
become better acquainted with the work of 
foreign missions, and to try to awaken in his 
people an interest in them. So he set for 
himself a course of study on the geography 
and history of Asia, and began to read of the 
manners of the strange peoples occupying that 
continent. He found this an excellent diversion 
from his ordinaiy studies. Of course, his little 
boy and girl, then eight and six years old, be- 
came interested also in their papa's books and 
maps and pictures. 

The people did not care much for missions, as 
Mr. Anson soon learned ; but the reason of this 
was, that they knew scarcely anything about 
them. The first thing he did was to buy a 



SETTING OUT ON THE JOURNEY. 9 

Magic Lantern and a number of slides, and 
with the aid of these he gave a series of Friday 
evening lectures. Of course, the people came to 
see the pictures, and soon began to care more for 
the salvation of the idolaters. After a little 
while the young folks planned to organize a 
Mission Band, and to take up in earnest the 
study of missions. Mr. Anson presided at 
their meetings, and gave the little folks the 
benefit of his own learning. The Band had 
made such progress, that in four or five years 
they had made imaginary journeys in almost 
every country of Asia, They had held festivals, 
given entertainments, and prepared "Japanese 
tea-parties,' ' all in addition to the gift of quite 
a sum of their own money to the missionary 
workers in Swatow. 

Mr. Anson had a pet project; for this he had 
been carefully saving his money during the six 
years past. It looked as if he would have to 
wait a great many more years before he would be 
able to carry out his plan, when he received news 



10 THE ANSONS IN ASIATIC TEMPLES. 

of the death of a relative, to whom he had once 
rendered important services, who had left him 
nearly five thousand dollars. At once his mind 
was made up that he should take his family and 
make the long wished for tour of the temples 
and missions of the East. In this way, he felt 
that he could become well acquainted with the 
missionaries and their fields of labor; and so, 
perhaps, be of as much service to the Master 
in stirring up the hearts of Christians at 
home, as if he had gone to China as a mis- 
sionary. 

This it was that had caused such a stir among 
the members of the Hoyt Mission Band, for 
Bertie and Bessie had just told them of the 
intended journey. 

" Oh, how I wish that I was going ! " 
"Won't you write us long letters and tell us 
all that you see?" "When will you go?'' 
''They won't eat you up, will they, out there?" 

How the questions poured out ! It seemed 
wonderful that it was to be a real journey; that 



SETTING OUT ON THE JOURNEY. 11 

with their own eyes Bertie and Bessie were to 
see the temples and the mission chapels of which 
they had read in Little Helpers and The Helping 
Hand; that they were to go about among the 
queer folks of whom the missionaries had 
written. 

The days of preparation quickly passed by, 
and the Anson family were ready to start on 
their journey around the world. Mr. Anson 
had determined to burden himself with just as 
little baggage as possible. So we see the family 
party, on a bright Monday morning, seated in 
the Pullman car, dressed in rough and tumble 
suits, and ready to enjoy, to the full, their 
journey from the very beginning. To Bertie 
and Bessie it was a new experience to travel 
for more than a few hours. " It was just like 
a picnic," Bessie said, as the porter brought 
them their great lunch basket. When night 
came, their seats were drawn together, mat- 
tresses and sheets and blankets spread over 
them, and a bed pulled down from the ceiling 



12 THE ANSONS IN ASIATIC TEMPLES. 

of the car, and curtains hung before them. 
Then Bertie and his papa climbed up into 
the upper berth, while Bessie and her mamma 
slept in the lower one. It was a long while 
before the children could get to sleep; they 
were so excited with the leaving home, and 
were so often disturbed as trains rushed past 
them. It was a night and an experience that 
they never forgot. 

The party stopped for a day in Chicago, to get 
rested and to prepare for the jom'ney across 
the prairies and mountains to San Francisco, 
where they were to take the steamer for Japan. 
At Ogden they stopped again, to go up to Salt 
Lake, and to see the great Mormon city. After 
a ride of a little more than six days and nights 
in the cars, they reached San Francisco. Here 
Bessie took the chance of writing to one of her 
friends who occupied the same seat with her in 
school, and who was the Secretary of the Hoyt 
Mission Band: 



setting out on the journey. 13 

"Occidental Hotel, San Francisco. 

" My Dear Nellie : Oh, how I wish that 
you and all the girls could be with me ! It all 
seems so funny. We are awfully tired of riding 
in the cars. I would like to tell you about the 
Indians we saw, and their babies, ' pappooses,' as 
they call them; they were awfully dirty, I 
thought, and their papas and mammas were not 
any cleaner. When somebody said, * There's 
an Indian,' oh, how it made my heart jump! 
But I don't feel half so afraid now. And then 
the Chinamen ; we saw more and more of them 
the nearer we came to California. They look so 
clean (papa says it is only on the outside), and 
they go about so quietly. . But, how funny their 
talk seems. ^Supposee, missie, you wanchee one 
cup tea, me catchee.' 'You, Melican girlee?' 
'Me sabee.' They call this 'pidgeon English,' 
or business English. 

" We climbed up, up, up the mountains from 
Nebraska, then we went down the Rockies, and 
then right up and over the Sierra Nevadas. At 



14 THE ANSONS IN ASIATIC TEMPLES. 

one place they took us on board a great ferry- 
boat, locomotive, cars, and all. The cars do not 
come right into San Francisco, but they run into 
Oakland and out on a great wharf several miles 
long ; then the people get into two-storied ferry- 
boats, and are taken over the bay into the city. 
Bertie says that a man told him that there are 
three railroads across the continent now, one up 
north, through Dakota to Oregon, one down 
south, through New Mexico and Southern 
California, and the one we came on, through 
Nebraska, "Wyoming, Nevada, and so to San 
Francisco. 

"On Tuesday, a girl named E-ubie Larrison 
came to see us with her papa, who is a deacon in 
the church here. I like her very much, and I am 
going to see her some day at her home. Last 
Sunday, we went to church in Oakland, and I 
sat with Rubie. In the evening, we went to the 
Chinese Mission School ; it was a queer Sunday- 
school. Every class had just one pupil and one 
teacher. The Chinamen all dress just as they do 



SETTING OUT ON THE JOURNEY. 15 

in China, with their ' pig-tails/ and all. They 
sing in Chinese mostly. I had all I could do to 
keep from laughing at them. Papa is going to 
take one of the Chinese * boys' with him on the 
steamer; his name is Ah Ching. He has been 
very sick, and the missionary teacher wants to 
keep him out of the steerage. By going with 
papa he can be in the cabin most of the time. 

"The folks that we have met tease us about 
being sea-sick, and they ask us to try all sorts of 
things to keep off sea-sickness. Papa went to 
the doctor's yesterday, and he gave him some 
powders in a tin box. We all have to take them ; 
they taste just like salt. They are marked 
Bromide of Sodium; but I don't know what 
that is. 

" Well, I must not write any more, because it 

is bedtime. Please give my love to all the girls. 

"Your friend, 

Bessie Anson." 

It took some time to make all the arrange- 
ments for the sea voyage. State-rooms had to be 



16 THE ANSONS IN ASIATIC TEMPLES. 

secured, money had to be exchanged, tickets 
bought, and every so many other little things to 
be attended to. Under the guidance of Rubie 
Larrison and her papa, the children went to 
Woodward's Gardens and to the Cliff House, to 
see the seals come up out of the sea and climb 
up the rocks. At another time they went to 
the smelting works, and saw them refining gold 
and silver; and then, to the Mint, where it was 
turned into coin. On another day, guided by a 
policeman, they went through "China-town," 
among the opium dens, and into the "jos5- 
houses," Avhere the children saw for the first time 
the idols of the heathen. It seemed a strange 
thing to find so many heathen temples in Chris- 
tian America. In one of these temples, three 
idols sat side by side; they represented Buddha 
past, present, and to come; and all parts of the 
temple, as well as the idols, were decorated with 
color and gilding. While the children were in 
the "Joss-house of the Three Precious Budd- 
has,'' a poor woman came in, and, kneeling with 



SETTING OUT ON THE JOURNEY. 17 

her head to the floor, began to mumble over her 
prayers. It brought the tears to Bessie's eyes, 
and filled the hearts of all with sadness, that she 
should be praying to the wooden idols that could 
not hear, while a loving, living Saviour stood 
waiting to help her. 

Mr. Anson found out that quite a number of 
missionaries were to sail on the same steamer 
with his own party ; and, as he had some letters 
of introduction to officials of the Steamship 
Company, he managed to have it arranged that 
his party and the missionaries should have rooms 
close together, and that they should eat at the 
same tables. He was also able to get into the 
good graces of the captain, through the influence 
of these friends, and so received many little 
kindnesses during the voyage. Among the mis- 
sionaries were a gentleman and his wife, who 
had lived twenty- five years in China, and 
another and his wife, who had lived a short 
time in Japan, and who were going back again 
,with their little son, a child of three years old. 

B 



18 THE ANSONS IN ASIATIC TEMPLES. 

The rest were all new to the work ; they were a 
medical missionary and his wife, and four young 
ladies and two young gentlemen. This made a 
very pleasant company; and Mr. Anson was 
delighted that he had such a chance of becoming 
well acquainted with the missionaries. 

Finally the day came for starting on the long 
voyage of three or four Aveeks across the Pacific 
Ocean. The steamer's decks were crowded with 
friends, who had come aboard to say a last good- 
bye. Here and there might be seen a lady 
passenger, looking with envious eyes upon 
those who were so fortunate as to have friends 
to bid them a farewell. Then the bell rang the 
hour, a Chinese cabin-boy beat the gong, and the 
officers called out: "All aboard and all ashore." 
The great ropes were drawn in, the gangway 
drawn up, the tug was made fast to the steamer, 
the pilot took his place, the command was given, 
and the great vessel was towed out into the bay. 
Then the tug's ropes were cast off, the whistles 
blew a farewell, the engineer's bell was rung, , 



SETTING OUT ON THE JOURNEY. 19 

the great screw began to turn, and, by its own 
power, the steamer moved grandly down the 
bay. As they passed, the whistles of the smelt- 
ing-works blew a farewell to the missionary 
party, who had visited them a few days pre- 
vious. 

As everything had been arranged in the state- 
rooms the Anson party were to occupy, they re- 
mained upon deck, determined to see the last of 
the land. Very little motion was felt, and our 
friends were congratulating themselves upon 
their comfortable feelings. Just as the vessel 
passed through the Golden Gate, out upon the 
Pacific Ocean, the motion of the swell began to 
be felt, and when well across the bar, the rolling 
and pitching began. One after another went 
below to find a place to lie down. Bessie 
was quite amused as little Charlie wanted to 
know what made the water jump up to the 
clouds and then away down again, and what 
made him feel so funny. By-and-by, the 
"Oh mys" were heard, as one or another suf- 



20 THE ANSONS IN ASIATIC TEMPLES. 

ferecl the distresses of sea-sickness. The Anson 
family kept up very well, thanks to the medi- 
cine which they had taken by the doctor's direc- 
tion, though it did not entirely prevent the sick- 
ness. 

Bertie soon made friends with the officers and 
passengers, and, boy like, asked any number 
of questions. He pried into everything. For 
awhile he stood watching the wheelman, after 
the pilot had gone ashore ; then he looked into 
the coops where the sheep, and the ducks, 
chickens, turkeys, and pigeons were kept; then 
through the hatchways he watched the work- 
ing of the engines. 

After awhile, the purser came on deck and 
began to talk with him. After a little banter 
about his not being sick, the purser began to 
talk of the passengers. Bertie had always 
looked upon missionaries as a sort of heroes, 
and was much taken aback when the purser 
ventured to sneer at them and their work. 

As the days passed by and he became better 



SETTING OUT ON THE JOURNEY. 21 

acquainted with the purser and with some of the 
passengers, more doubts were put into his mind, 
and he, himself, began to doubt if the mission- 
ary work was really of any use, and to wonder 
if it was not all folly, after all. He could not 
tell these thoughts to his father, he felt, and so 
he determined that he would carefully watch the 
missionaries and listen to their talk, and so see 
if they were in earnest; and that when he went 
through Japan and China he would see for 
himself as to the real state of the heathen, and 
just what good or evil the missionaries might be 
doing. He might have told his father all about 
his doubts; but, with the conceit so common to 
boyhood, he preferred to see for himself and to 
reason the thing out alone. 

Every morning and evening, the missionaries 
and the Anson family gathered together in a 
corner of the dining-room for " family prayers." 
On Sundays, they gained the great privilege of 
having service in the "Social Hall." Often 
they would cluster about the piano and sing 



22 THE ANSONS IN ASIATIC TEMPLES. 

some of the grand old gospel hymns; and on 
warm, pleasant nights would draw their chairs 
together upon the deck and send the sweet 
sounds out upon the air. They seemed greatly 
to enjoy each other's company; though they 
belonged to different denominations, they were 
one in their trust in Christ, and one in wish- 
ing to give his gospel to the heathen. So day 
after day passed, varied by storms and calms, 
yet one day very much like every other. On 
the twentieth day of the voyage, the captain 
assured the passengers that they should see 
land on the morrow, and, with this joyous 
expectation, they "turned in" early. 



CHAPTER 11. 

A TRIOTCLE TRIP TO ASAKUSA, TOKIO. 

T) RIGHT and early the next morning, Bertie 
rose and went on deck, half expecting to 
see land close at hand. Nothing was to be seen, 
however, but the same great circle where sea and 
sky seemed to come together. Just then the 
quartermaster came to the captain's cabin, and 
called out : 

" Land ahead, sir." 

"Where?'' said Bertie. 

"Right off there. Can't you make it out, 
sir?" 

Bertie looked and looked in vain. Finally, 
he went to his state-room and brought his glasses, 
but even then he could not see it. Just then 
the captain came from his room. 

"Where is the land, captain? I can't see it." 

The captain scanned the horizon before them. 

23 



24 THE ANSONS IN ASIATIC TEMPLES. 

"Why, right there. Just keep looking at 
that point, a little above the horizon ; you can 
only tell it from the waves, because they move, 
while it is steady. You will soon see more of it.^' 

After breakfast, when they came on deck 
again, they could see, quite plainly, a point 
stretching up into the sky. 

"It is Fuji-yama, the great mountain of 
Japan," said one of the missionaries who had 
been over to Japan before. 

As the forenoon passed away, birds came 
flying about the vessel — not the gulls which 
had always been flying about the stern of the 
steamer all the voyage across the ocean — but 
land birds. The saw-like line of the horizon 
became more distinct, as they came nearer to 
the mouth of the bay of Yedo ; they passed many 
Japanese fishing junks with their square sails; 
and off to the south they could see a long trail 
of smoke left by a steamer, which had dis- 
appeared below the horizon. 

For several days the crew had been busy 



A TRICYCLE TRIP TO ASAKUSA. 25 

polishing up the brasses, and scouring and scrub- 
bing generally; now every rope was coiled up 
nicely, the covers were taken from the furniture, 
the carpet's covering removed, and the whole 
vessel was put in holiday trim. 

While yet some distance down the bay, the 
steamer was sighted, and a signal gun was fired 
from an American man-of-war, which annouuced 
to the people of Yokohama the arrival of the 
American mail steamer. Soon the bay was all 
alive with little boats, sculled by almost naked 
boatmen; and little steam launches were seen 
rushing towards the steamer as she came up 
to her buoy and was made fast. The gangway 
was lowered, and people began to go and 
come. 

Among the first to come aboard were some 
missionaries from Yokohama, who sought those 
who were to join their mission in Japan. These 
all went off together. Shortly after, the Anson 
family took their places in a hotel launch, and 
were very quickly in their rooms, overlooking tlie 



26 THE ANS0:5fS IN ASIATIC TEMPLES. 

bay, where they could see the steamer riding at 
her buoy nearly a mile from shore. 

Bertie and Bessie were impatient to go out 
into the native town; but as in the excitement 
of getting to land they had eaten no "tifl&n" — 
as they call the noonday luncheon in the East — 
they were compelled to wait a little while. 
While they were at tiffin, a Japanese servant 
brought in a card to Mr. Anson, saying: 

" Gentleman, he want see you." 

Mr. Anson found it to be an old college friend, 
who had been in Japan for about six years past, 
and who had seen his name in the list of pas- 
sengers just arrived. At once he asked Mr. 
Anson to his home; but Mr. Anson feared that 
this might put his friend to considerable trouble, 
as his "bungalow" was small, so he declined; 
but gladly accepted the offer of guidance. 

When the family were all together, they began 
to talk over their plans with Mr. Benton. He 
advised them to spend two or three days sight- 
seeing in Tokio, the capital, then to proceed 



A TRICYCLE TRIP TO ASAKUSA. 27 

overland to Kioto, turning aside on the way to 
see the gigantic idol, Dai Butz ; from Kioto they 
could proceed to Kob^, where they would take 
steamer for Shanghai, China. After consider- 
able discussion, they decided on adopting this 
route. For this afternoon they concluded to 
stay within the foreign settlement, to go to the 
book stores and get a map of Japan, a guide 
book, and some other supplies. They found 
that the houses and stores of the foreigners 
were built mostly of stone and tiles, with tile 
roofs; that there were no sidewalks, and that 
people of almost all nationalities were to be 
seen going to and fro. In their rambles they 
passed by several large stone buildings, from 
whose windows came a delightful fragrance. 
Into one of these Mr. Benton took them, and 
they saw several hundred women standing before 
charcoal fires in stone braziers, kneading some 
sort of leaves. This they found to be the tea- 
leaves, and they were being "re-fired" before 
packing them in boxes to send to America. 



28 THE ANSONS IN ASIATIC TEMPL.ES. 

At an early hour the next morning, the party 
were at the railroad station, accompanied by Mr. 
Benton, who was to be their guide in Tokio. 
After a ride of eighteen miles, they reached 
the capital. Here a friend of Mr. Benton's 
met them at the station. They were soon 
seated in their jin-riki-shas, a carriage holding 
one or two persons, and pulled by two Japanese 
coolies. Mr. Benton's friend, Mr. Granger, had 
brought his tricycle, which had seats for two, 
and he invited Bertie to sit beside him, so that 
he might explain to him the persons and places 
that they passed. 

So they trundled along up the Ginza Avenue, 
by the side of the street cars, under the wires 
from which the electric lights were suspended, 
and by houses that were half foreign looking. 
It seemed to Bertie and Bessie that they had 
need of a half-dozen pairs of eyes apiece to see 
all the curious objects that they passed. Up one 
street and down another, it seemed a perfect 
maze, and yet the sun steadily shone upon their 



A TRICYCLE TRIP TO ASAKUSA. 29 

backs, so that they knew they were not going 
around and around. 

"Where are you taking us to?" Bertie asked 
Mr. Granger. 

" To the great Temple of Asakusa, the temple 
that is more crowded with worshipers than any 
other temple in the city." 

" Why do you go to the temple? Are there 
not other things more worth seeing?" Bertie 
asked. 

"No," said Mr. Granger; "the temples of 
Asakusa and of Shiba, where we are going 
this afternoon, are the most famous sights of 
Tokio. While we are up in this part of the 
city we may run over to Uy^no Park and see 
the Government Museum; but you will soon see 
that the temples are far more curious and inter- 
esting." 

" Of course," said Bertie, " I have heard of 
temples ; but I really do not know just what 
they are. What kind of a place is this temple 
of— what do you call it ? " 



30 THE ANSONS IN ASIATIC TEMPLES. 

"A temple is not like a Protestant church in 
America, but rather like the Roman Catholic 
cathedrals and shrines. You know that Bud- 
dhism — to which these temples belong — and 
E-oman Catholicism are, in some respects, as 
much alike as two peas in the same pod. 
Within the temple grounds, as you will see, 
there is quite a collection of buildings — the 
temple proper, the priests' houses, a preaching 
hall, and the like; but you will soon see for 
yourself.'' 

Mr. Granger and Bertie were in the lead, and 
the jin-riki-shas came after them. The roads 
were so hard and smooth, and the tricycle so 
light and easily propelled, that they had to wait 
quite frequently for the pullers of the jin-riki- 
shas. to catch up. Sometimes they would turn 
aside from the direct road, in order to see some 
of the wayside shrines or idols, or to glance 
into some of the houses or stores, whose fronts 
were entirely open to the street. 

After a little they came to a place where great 



A TRICYCLE TRIP TO ASAKUSA. 31 

D umbers of jin-riki-shas were standing, and Mr. 
Granger said : 

" Here we must get down." 

So, leaving their tricycle and their wraps in the 
care of the jin-riki-sha men who had brought the 
rest of the party, they turned up a narrow street, 
made only for pedestrians. The lane was lined 
with booths on either side, where candies, sugared 
beans, and various toys were the chief things sold. 
Three or four hundred yards further, they came 
to a gigantic gateway, guarded by two hideous 
wooden idols, a sort of Gog and Magog. On 
the wooden gratings before these idols were 
hanging huge straw sandals, locks of hair, 
pictures, and other votive offerings. 

A little before the gate, they turned to the 
right, and passing by some tea-houses, where 
pilgrims were quietly sipping tea, they went 
to the Revolving Library. In a room about 
twenty feet high, Bertie and Bessie saw a 
bookcase attached to the ceiling and the floor 
in such a way that it could be turned around. 



32 THE ANSONS IN ASIATIC TEMPLES. 

It contains the Buddhist Bible, of over three 
thousand volumes. 

'As nobody could ever read it through," said 
the priest in attendance, to Mr. Granger; "not 
even in a life-time, Shaka will accept it as 
read through once, if a man will make the 
case revolve three times." 

Bertie and Bessie could not budge the case, but 
Mr. Anson was able to do so, without much effort. 

Passing by a five-storied pagoda, they came to 
the temple proper. Climbing up some steep 
steps, they entered the vestibule, where the 
crowd were worshiping. Immense lanterns 
were hung from the ceiling, in and among 
which darted the sacred pigeons. An old 
woman sat by an incense-burner, and for a 
small coin threw a pinch of incense upon the 
charcoal fire within. In front of the main 
altar was a great coffer, into which the devotees 
threw a coin before beginning to pray. Then 
they would rub the palms of their hands to- 
gether, and tell their beads, as they mumbled 



A TRICYCLE TRIP TO ASAKUSA. 33 

their prayers, looking up to the idol within. As 
fast as one would go another would take his 
place. Some would clap their hands aloud, to 
attract the attention of the goddess within to the 
prayers they were about to offer. Occasionally 
one would go to a priest, buy a written prayer, 
put the paper in his mouth and chew it into 
a " spit-ball " and then throw it at the wire 
grating before the idol; if it stuck fast, his 
face would brighten up with the feeling that 
the prayer would be heard ; but if it fell, then 
he would go away looking down-hearted. Once 
in awhile a well-dressed man or woman would 
pass through a side door giving a fee to the 
priestly door-keeper, and proceed to worship in 
the seclusion within the grating, away from the 
crowd. 

Just here Bessie noticed some mothers ap- 
proaching, carrying their little babes, and they 
were sickly, delicate, wizen-faced little things; 
the babes were carried on the mother's back, 

between their inner and outer garments. 

c 



34 THE ANSONS IN ASIATIC TEMPLES. 

"What are they going to do? '''asked Bessie. 

"Watch them, and you will see/' said Miss 
Kirby, a missionary who had joined the party. 

The mothers drew near to an ugly little 
wooden idol, placed on a small pedestal, and 
then reaching over their shoulders, took the 
hand of the little baby, and first rubbed it on 
the old idoFs face, and then on the sick or sore 
spot on her child. The idol's nose, eyes, and 
ears were almost rubbed off. "That is Bind- 
zuru-sama, the God of Healing," said Miss 
Kirby, "and the mothers think that he will 
help their babies to get well. If they get bet- 
ter, then the mothers bring their bibs and fasten 
them about the idol's neck, as you see them." 

Just here, an old priest came from a stand on 
one side of the altar, and holding up a gilded 
shrine by the ring in its top, asked Miss Kirby, 
in Japanese, of course, if the little girl did not 
want to buy a shrine of Kwanon-sama, the 
Queen of Heaven and Goddess of Mercy. 

^^What for?" said Miss Kirby. 



A thicycle tkip to asakusa. 35 

" Why, to take home with her, and to say her 
prayers to, that Kwanon may protect her/' 
" Kwanon can't protect her," said Miss Kirby; 




SHRINE OF KWANON. 



'Hhat is only a piece of wood; you ought to 
look to the true God, in heaven, for protection." 
On the invitation of another priest, the party, 
first taking off their shoes, went in through the 
side door, around the inner shrine. At one side 



36 THE AKSONS IN ASIATIC TEMPLES. 

was a private altar, where private "masses" 
were said. Here a priest was building a little 
bonfire of splints, on a low altar, and throwing 
into the fire, every now and then, a pinch of 
incense. What, with the ringing of a small 
bell, the tapping the incense boxes with his 
"bauble,'^ the telling of his beads, and the 
mumbling of a sentence of Sanskrit over and 
over again, it seemed to the children a singularly 
senseless jargon. Miss Ku'by had often seen it 
before, but Bessie noticed, as she stole a glance 
into Miss Kirby's face, that tears of pity were 
falling from her eyes. 

On the main altar rested a shrine of the 
goddess of the temple, and in and around were 
great numbers of smaller idols. On one side 
Avas a gigantic mirror, presented to the temple 
by a wrestler, as a votive offering. In the 
temple grounds without, were all sorts of ex- 
hibitions : a wax-works' show, monkeys, tamed 
birds, performing dogs, photographers' galleries, 
and dear knows what all. 



A TRICYCLE TRIP TO ASAKUSA. 37 

By this time our friends were thoroughly tired 
and heart-sick. They quickly found their jin- 
riki-shas again, and Mr. Granger and Bertie 
their tricycle, and they were soon whirling 
away towards Shiba; where, after luncheon 
they were to spend the afternoon. 



CHAPTER III. 

AN AFTERNOON IN SSIBA, TOEIO. 

A FTEE, leaving Asakusa, our friends went 
first to the public park at Uyeno, where 
there is a very large and very ugly idol of 
Buddha, made of bronze, a weak and feeble 
imitation of the great idol at Kamakura. After 
rambling about the«park, visiting the great mu- 
seum, and looking into some of the temples 
scattered through the grounds, a search for 
luncheon began. It was too much out of the 
way to go to Tsukiji, where most of the for- 
eigners live, so they rode down the Tori — as 
the chief street is called — and finally drew up 
before a fine large building, along whose front 
was strung a row of lanterns. Passing through 
the kitchen, which, in Japanese restaurants, is 
almost always in the front of the house, after 
re:Tioving their shoes, they climbed up a broad 

38 



AN AFTERNOON IN SIIIBA. 39 

ladder to a pretty room above. By sliding 
screens, the host shut off this room from all 
the others. The floor was covered by mats 
made of straw, each six feet long and three feet 
wide, and about two inches thick. There was 
no furniture in the room. 

The Americans seated themselves upon the 
floor, sitting on their heels just like the Japa- 
nese ; this seemed easy enough for a little while, 
but soon their limbs became stiff and aching, 
and they were glad to push them out behind 
them. Two or three chubby-faced, red-lipped 
girls slipped softly through the sliding screens, 
and, bowing to the floor, began to express their 
sense of the honor conferred upon the house by 
their visitors. They had brought with them a 
fire-box, with a handful of lighted charcoal, and 
a tray with tobacco and tiny pipes upon it. 
This last Mr. Granger sent right away, to the 
astonishment of the waiter girls. 

" This is jolly," said Bertie. 

"Yes, for a little while," replied Mr. Benton; 



40 THE ANSONS IN ASIATIC TEMPLES. 

"but when you go for months this way, as we 
do on missionary tours, it becomes monotonous." 

"Isn't everything nice and clean?'' Bessie 
noticed. " The mats are so white, the paper on 
the doors is so clear of dirt, and everything 
looks as if it had just been scoured." 

"Yes," Mr. Anson said, "the Japanese are 
a cleanly people, and when we get into the 
interior, as we go overland to Kioto, we shall 
have more opportunities of seeing it." 

Just then the waiters came in, bringing some 
covered bowls upon lacquered trays. 

"Where are the knives, forks, and spoons?" 
cried Bessie, in dismay, as a tray with the bowls 
upon it was set before her. "Are we to eat with 
our fingers? Why, what are these two sticks 
for? They look just like two lead-pencils, only 
that they have not been cut apart." 

"These are chop-sticks," Mr. Benton re- 
marked; "and they are not spilt apart so that 
you may know that nobody has ever eaten with 
them before." 



AN AFTEKNOON IN SHIBA. 41 

"Must we eat with them?" said Bertie, in a 
surprised tone, to Mr. Granger. 

" Yes ; that is what they are for." 

When they uncovered the bowls, they dis- 
covered some soup in one, a bit of fish in 
another, one was empty, and in another was 
something that they did not recognize as having 
ever seen it before. Mr. Anson was looking at 
it rather suspiciously, when Mr. Benton re- 
marked : 

"That is chawan mushi; it is a kind of 
custard; you put in your chop-sticks, and 
you may pull out almost any sort of an 
eatable." 

"Yes," said Bertie, attempting a joke; "a 
Japanese hash." 

The waiter girls, who remained in attendance, 
squatted upon their heels at one side, were look- 
ing with curious gaze at the attempts of the 
party to use the chop-sticks. Mr. Granger and 
Mr. Benton had no difficulty; but the rest 
seemed in danger of going away hungry. After 



42 THE ANSONS IN ASIATIC TEMPLES. 

laughing about it, and after a number of mis- 
haps, owing to their clumsiness, Mr. Benton 
said, as he opened his satchel: 

*' I expected this, and so I asked my wife to 
put in here some such tools as you are accus- 
tomed to use," and he handed them each a fork 
and a spoon. "Now you will like that rice 
better, I think," he continued, "if you will 
put a little of this sugar and condensed milk 
upon it." 

And it did improve it very greatly. After 
considerable merriment, the luncheon was fin- 
ished, the bill was paid, and the jin-riki-sJias 
turned towards Shiba. 

After uncountable twistings and turnings, 
they stopped before a gigantic red gateway, 
two stories high. Passing through this, on 
foot, the American visitors walked slowly up 
an avenue, on either side of which were shrines 
and priests' residences. In one of these shrines, 
an old shaven-headed w^oman was in attend- 
ance. Bessie said to her mamma, that she 



AN AFTERNOON IN SHIBA. 43 

thouo^ht she was "one of the sweetest- faced 
old ladies'' she had ever seen. 

Around the walls were hung a great many 
scrolls, and, as the old lady said to Mrs. Anson, 
through Mr. Granger, they had hundreds more 
very valuable ones in the chests about the 
shrine. A little beyond this, a bulletin-board 
was erected, upon which shingles, covered with 
Chinese characters, were placed. 

"Why, what is that?" asked Bertie. 

"That," said Mr. Benton, "is the way the 
Japanese have of publishing the names of the 
givers of money towards the new temple, and 
the amount they give. There is the Emperor's 
name for a thousand dollars, and they run down 
from this to sums of ten dollars." 

Just here, the noise of tiny hammers, beating 
upon small anvils, was heard, and a humming 
sound as of a number of voices repeating some- 
thing in concert. Turning to the building from 
whence the sound came, and after taking off their 
shoes, lest they should soil the clean mats, they 



44 THE ANSOXS IN ASIATIC TEMPLES. 

found themselves in an oblong building, in the 
midst of an audience of men, women, and 
children. Beyond a railing, in front of the 
audience, upon a high pulpit, squatted a priest, 
with a round, jolly face. The people before 
him were repeating a prayer, ^^ Nam-nam-mam- 
nantj^ for several minutes thus, and then sud- 
denly bursting forth, under the priest leadership 
with, ^^ Namu Amida Butsee/^ — meaning. Hear, 
O Salvation-Bringing Buddha. All the while 
some old ladies — the choir, Bertie called them — 
were beating with little mallets upon metal 
drums before them, keeping the time of the 
nam-nams. Then of a sudden, the praying 
ceased, and the shaven-headed priest began to 
preach. He occasionally told stories which 
made the people laugh, and sometimes he spoke 
very earnestly. His sermon was a very short 
one. When it was over, a number of attendant 
priests came forward and began to pray aud 
prostrate themselves before an idol, which was 
then uncovered. The whole ceremony seemed 



AN AFTEKNOON IN SHIBA. 45 

to consist in the repetition of phrases — in 
Sanskrit and Chinese, as Mr. Benton remarked, 
and which not even the priests understood. 
After the service was ended, some of the 
younger priests came nearer our friends, to 
see, particularly, the lady and the little girl, 
who were greater strangers than the gentlemen. 
Mr. Benton made use of the opportunity to 
ask the priests if they really understood their 
worship, and to try to tell them something 
about Christianity. In leaving the building, 
slipping his hand into his pockets, he brought 
forth some tracts called, "The Story of the 
Cross," written in the Japanese characters, and 
gave them to the priests and people, who re- 
ceived them with many expressions of thanks. 
Bertie had been listening while Mr. Benton 
was speaking, and had noticed all his actions. 
Of course, he could not understand a word that 
was said, but he read in Mr. Benton's face and 
in the tones of his voice, that he was earnestly 
pleading with them for something, and the word 



46 THE ANSONS IN ASIATIC TEMPLES. 

JT^Uy which he could distinguish every once in 
awhile, made him feel certain that Mr. Benton 
was talking of Jesus. It was done so quietly, 
so simply, and so courteously, that no one 
seemed in the least offended, not even the 
priests. 

, " H'm,'^ said Bertie, ** Mr. Benton's a good 
missionary, anyhow. I wonder if they are 
all like him.'' 

Beyond the preaching hall, the new temple 
stood. It Avas a square structure, having a high, 
curving roof, supported by immense timbers. 

"Is it not top-heavy?" asked Mr. Anson. 

"No," replied Mr. Benton; "the Japanese 
Jbelieve that buildings constructed in this way 
better stand the shocks of the earthquakes, 
which are here so frequent. Do you notice this 
beautiful wood? Smell these chips; is not the 
odor delightful? This is the kinohi, the ^sun- 
wood,' literally; and this hard, heavy timber is 
the keyakiy a kind of elm. And here is some 
camphor wood; notice how strong the odor of 



AN AFTERNOON IN SHIBA. 47 

the camphor is in these newly cut chips. Do 
you see how the timbers are so pinned together, 
with wooden pegs, that some of them can sway 
just a little ? These tiles for the roof are made 
of clay, and are quite heavy also. In that little 
room right in the centre of the rear end of the 
building is to be the sanctum sanctorum^ the 
shrine for the idol-god. Do you notice that 
they are making it fire-proof, so that the idol 
cannot be burned up if the temple should get 
on fire again ? Is it not strange that the Japanese 
should worship an idol who cannot keep himself 
from being burnt? But we must go to the 
Tycoons' Temples, where you can see one of tlie 
most beautifully finished temples in Japan. 
While we are walking across to one of these 
temples, I will tell you about their history. 
"From 1616 A. D., to 1872 A. D., the right- 
ful rulers of Japan, the Mikados, or Emperors, 
were hidden away in their palaces at Kioto, 
while usurpers, called the Skoguns, or TycoonSy 
were the real rulers of Japan. These Shoguns 



48 THE ANSONS IN ASIATIC TEMPLES. 

were zealous Buddhists; the greatest of the 
ShogunSy ly^-yasu, took one of the sects of the 
Buddhists under his protection, and removed 
their chief monastery to this place. Here, be- 
tween 1596 and 1623, the great temple was 
built. Yonder gateway, which we came through, 
has been standing since 1623. As each of the 
Shoguns died he was buried either here in Shiba, 
or in Uyeno, or at the town of Nikko, far to the 
north. The tombs themselves are very plain 
structures, but before each tomb a magnificent 
temple was built; all of these are among the 
marvels of Japanese art. Now we must ask 
this old priest to let us in." 

After a few minutes of talk, the party stepped 
to a side door, where they removed their shoes, 
and proceeded to follow their priestly guide. 
Within, all seemed gloomy and dismal, until the 
priest threw open the doors at one side of the 
temple and let in a flood of sunlight. Then 
they stood in the midst of a blaze of gold. The 
elaborate sculptures, the brilliant coloring, the 



AN AFTERNOON IN SHIBA. 49 

delicate metal work, dazzled their eyes with their 
brilliant beauty. The building was T shaped, 
with the top of the T towards the front, and the 
shrines well in the rear. 

"In ancient days, before the Mikado was 
restored," continued Mr. Benton, '^the priests sat 
in the front apartment, the Tycoon's family just 
in front of them, and up near the shrines only 
the High Priest ever went. To-day very little 
reverence is paid to the temples ; the people are 
discouraged from coming to them, for political 
reasons, as one can readily see. The foreigner 
even — who used to be hated in Japan — can now 
go where formerly only the High Priest dare 
venture. You notice the ceiling's gorgeous 
paneling. See also that great piece of carving; 
how perfect in all its parts ! Yet it is all made 
from one long timber. Observe the lacquer 
work ; how hard and smooth and glossy it is." 

"What are in those boxes?" asked Bertie. 

" The sacred books. Let us look at them; for 
the priest will allow us." 

D 



50 THE ANSO:&irS in ASIATIC TEMPLES. 

So Mr. Benton opened one of tiie oblong 
boxes, and took out a roll tied with silken 
cords. In Chinese characters, beautifully writ- 
ten, they saw the sacred Buddhist books. The 
whole temple was beautifully finished in all its 
parts, too beautiful to find words to describe it. 
The only ugly things — ugly in foreigners' eyes — 
were the dragons, the griffins, the lions, and 
other animals that were painted on the walls. 

From this temple they passed around among 
the tombs, out under the grand old trees, by 
other temples scarcely less magnificent than the 
one they had visited. These temples are, in 
reality, kept more as works of art than for use 
in worship. Finally as the sun was beginning 
to set, the group passed away to the depot, and 
were soon flitting along the shores of Yedo Bay, 
towards Yokohama. 

Tlie next day was the Lord's Day; and, 
escorted by Mr. Benton, who called for them 
early in the morning, Mr. Anson and his family 
climbed up the ^^BlulF" to the mission chapel, 



AN AFTERNOON IN SHIBA. 51 

anxious to get a chauce to see how the native 
Christians worshiped. The chapel was a small 
building, which w^ould seat about a hundred and 
fifty people; it had paper windows and a matted 
floor. A tiny organ stood in front, at which 
one of the missionary ladies was seated, while 
the preacher, a native Japanese, was seated on 
one side of the table that served as a pulpit, and 
by his side the white-haired, veteran missionary, 
who, for ten years or more, had labored to give 
to the Japanese the gospel of Jesus Christ, as he 
had labored in another land for nearly a quarter 
of a century, to give it to another heathen people. 
The order of the services was just the same as 
in Mr. Anson's church at Alton, though alto- 
gether in the Japanese language. Bertie and 
Bessie held between them a hymn book, in 
which the hymns had been written out in the 
same kind of letters used in English books, so 
that, after listening to a verse or two in silence, 
they were able to join in singing "Jesus, lover 
of my soul" in its Japanese translation. There 



52 THE ANSONS IN ASIATIC TEMPLES. 

was no other part of the service that they could 
understand; and so they watched the face of the 
preacher and studied their neighbors, who were 
giving devout attention to the sermon. 

" How earnest he is ! " thought Bertie. " How 
bright and quick his mind seems to be ! I guess 
that he thoroughly believes all that he says. 
Why, this must be the man of whom Mr. 
Benton was telling papa, who is such a good 
scholar, and who chooses rather to be a Christian 
preacher, on poor pay, than to get a good situa- 
tion under Government. I wonder why that 
old gentleman wanted to come away off here, 
when he was as old as he was; he must have 
cared a great deal about making these people 
Christians. Mr. Benton said that Dr. Browning 
was not going to America ever, he guessed ; that 
he is going to stay here until he dies. Well, lie 
must be a good man. I guess that the purser 
did not know such men as the doctor when he 
talked against missionaries." 

The service being at an end, many of the 



AN AFTERNOON IN SHIBA. 53 

Japanese were introduced to Mr. Anson and his 
family by Dr. Browning and Mr. Benton; and 
some of them could speak the English very well. 
The Sunday-school here began; and Mr. Benton, 
with the Ansons, left to attend service in Eng- 
lish, in the Union Church, in the settlement. 
Here they seemed almost at home again. If it 
had not been for some Japanese who sat near 
them, and for some red-coats from the British 
men-of-war, as well as some sailors from the 
American vessels, they would have fancied them- 
selves back in America. 



CHAPTER ly. 

A. JIN-BIKI-SEA JAUNT TO THE IDOL, DAI BUTZ, 

rpHERE are very few carriage-roads in Japan, 
but a great many bridle-paths. Horses and 
carriages cannot, therefore, go very far in any 
direction. There are a few dozen miles of rail- 
way, all told, and many more miles projected. 
Mr. Anson and his party determined upon fol- 
lowing the Tokaido, the road from Tokio — or 
rather from the point where the Yokohama road 
joins the Tokaido — to Kioto; Tokio being the 
"Eastern Capital and Kioto the "Western 
Capital." They might have taken one of the 
sidewheel ocean steamers which the Japanese 
"Three Diamonds" Steamship Company pur- 
chased from some Americans, and have gone 
around by sea to Kob6, and thence up to Kioto 
by raih'oad ; but this would have been a monot- 
onous journey. The Tokaido is the road over 

54 



A JIN-RIKI-SHA JAUNT TO DAI BUTZ. 55 

which, until recent times, the princes and their 
retainers were accustomed to travel in coming to 
Tokio. Japan was opened to the western world 
by Commodore Perry in 1853, and, many years 
passed before it was absolutely safe for foreigners 
to travel in the interior. Bertie had been read- 
ing in one of the books of Japan, of the murder 
of Mr. Richardson on the Tokaido in 1862, and 
felt a little nervous when his father announced 
that they would follow the Tokaido to Kioto, 
turning off on the way to visit the gigantic idol 
of Dai Butz. But he was reassured when Mr. 
Benton told him how that murder took place. 
The Daimio, or Prince of Satsuma, was coming 
to Tokio with his train. The Japanese are a 
proud, haughty race, and when the foreigner 
and his companions, instead of turning aside 
for the procession to pass, sought to force their 
horses right through the crowd, the Japanese 
felt that their Prince was insulted, and so at- 
tacked Mr. Richardson. Two American gentle- 
men and an English lady, who had stopped at 



56 THE ANSOXS IN ASIATIC TEMPLES. 

one side of the road, and who politely permitted 
the procession to pass them, were not harmed. 
The jin-riJci-shaSj of which the travelers had 
already had some experience in Tokio, and by 
which they were to travel to Dai Butz, and to 
the foot of the mountains, were invented by 
an American missionary, it is said, in 1870. 
The first few were imported from San Fran- 
cisco; but now they are made in Japan, where 
over a hundred thousand are in use. They are 
two-wheeled, covered carriages, with springs, 
holding one person comfortably, and drawn 
by men. Except when ascending a hill, they 
go at the rate of five or six miles an horn'. 
The streets and roads are full of them, waiting 
to be hired at a cost of less than ten cents an 
hour. The men will take you from Yoko- 
hama to Dai Butz, and back — a distance of 
eighteen miles each way — in the same day, 
for seventy-five cents. All labor is cheap in 
Japan, and a jinriki's wages are counted to be 
very good indeed. 



A JIN-RIKI-SHA JAUNT TO DAI BUTZ. 57 

Sending their trunks around by steamer, they 
carried with them only the clothing absolutely 
needed, and some biscuits, canned milk, and 
canned meats, sugar, and some few other eat- 
ables, to add to such provision as the Japanese 
hotels would supply. They were detained for 
a little while awaiting their passports, with- 
out which they would not be permitted to travel 
more than twenty-five miles from any of the 
cities where foreigners can live. When the mail 
brought the passport from the American Minis- 
ter, they started at once for Dai Butz. 

Village after village, lying right along the 
road, was passed through. Occasionally they 
saw a peasant woman with a load of rice upon 
her back, which she bore to those who drew 
the rice through an iron comb, so threshing 
it from the straw. At other times they saw 
men beating the grain in huge mortars with 
great mallets, to separate the hulls from the 
grain. 

Every little while they stopped at the wayside 



58 THE ANSONS IN ASIATIC TEMPLES. 

tea-houses, where the coolies smoked their tiny 
pipes, and where the guests quaffed tea — without 
milk or sugar — from tiny cups. Finally the jin- 
riki-shas drew up in front of one of the large 
restaurants of Kamakura. 

This city was the seat of government from 
1192 A.D., to about 1450 A.D. There are 
very many old buildings here, mainly temples. 
While waiting for their luncheon to be prepared, 
under the guidance of one of the jin-rild-sha 
men, named Tahi, the visitors proceeded to 
explore the Temple of Hachiman. This tem- 
ple has stood nearly seven hundred years, but 
was burned in 1828, and a new one erected. 
Passing up over steep, rounded bridges, Mr. 
Anson and the foreigners walked between two 
ponds covered with the large white flowers of 
the lotus. The main temple is painted red. In 
the temple is a permanent exhibition of historic 
treasures. Around its walls are hundreds of 
small idols. One large idol is that of Jizo. 
Once a certain soldier was condemned to be be- 



A JIN-KIKI-SHA JAUNT TO DAI BUTZ. 59 

headed. The executioner found that he could 
make no impression on the man's neck, but 
that his sword became dented and nicked. On 
inquiry, it was found that the victim had con- 
cealed an image of Jizo in his queue, and, so 
the story goes, Jizo had protected him. Then 
he was pardoned, and a shrine to Jizo was 
erected. 

After luncheon it was decided to walk to Dai 
Butz and back, as it was only a little more than 
a mile from Kamakura. But we will let Mrs. 
Anson tell the story of the visit to Dai Butz, 
and how it impressed her. She had promised 
the Mission Band a long letter when she had 
seen something which she thought would in- 
terest them, and so, while resting in the hotel 
at Yumoto before ascending the mountain, she 
carried out her promise. 

( " Hotel Tumoto, 

( Foot of Hakine Mountaixs. 

"My Dear Young Friends: I promised 
you a gQod long letter, and this is my first 



60 THE ANSONS IN ASIATIC TEMPLES. 

chance to keep the promise. I want to tell 
you about our trip to-day, from Yokohama to 
Dai Butz, that gigantic bronze image, whose 
picture you have seen in one of the Sciopticon 
lectures on Japan. But let me begin at the 
beginning. Mr. Benton sent word to Tahi to 
bring his carriage — ^in-riki-sha he calls it. He 
does not harness a pony, for Tahi is both pony 
and driver; he himself is to pull the carriage, 
which is only a big baby-coach on two wheels. 
It is a long pull for Tahi, full eighteen miles 
from Yokohama to Dai Butz. Yokohama is all 
astir, early as it is, for the Japanese are always 
up at sunrise. The bay, just before us, is alive 
with the little boats which the sendos — boatmen 
I should say — ^are sculling toward the English 
steamer which came in during the night. 

"We pass down through the native town 
and out into the country. Yes, country; but 
do not think of meadows of grass, of fields of 
waving wheat, or bending corn, of zigzag, or 
post-and-rail fences, of cows and horses, and 



A JIN-EIKI-SHA JAUNT TO DAI BUTZ. 61 

pigs and geese, for there is scarcely any grass 
to be seen; no, not even a plot as large as 
that in your front yard, only some tufts here 
and there by the roadside, and on the dykes 
between the rice swamps. There are no fences, 
for tiiere are neither cows, nor pigs, nor geese, 
and very few horses. 

" The farm-houses are all gathered in villages ; 
and, as in the Saviour's time in Palestine, the 
sower goes forth to sow. No fields of rice are 
yet to be seen, only the bare, dismal, muddy rice 
swamps are left. But if the low lands are now 
dismal, the hills are not. The green pines tower 
high up in the air, and the glossy green leaves 
of the camelia contrast with the red flowers 
with which almost all the winter through they 
have been covered. Camelias, not small, feeble, 
delicate, like those the gardeners grow at home, 
but large as the apple tree. The violets, white 
and blue, are showing their heads. The spar- 
rows are twittering as they get ready for going 
to housekeeping; the crows coarsely cawing; 



62 THE ANSONS IN ASIATIC TEMPLES. 

surely there are ' three times three in every 
tree/ and the Japanese say tl ese cries are their 
plaintive love tones. 

" We are not alone ; the road is full of people, 
some in jin-riki-shas^ but most afoot. We meet 
no wagons, for there are none to meet; no cars, 
for none run in this direction. The houses in the 
farming villages, with their thatched roofs and 
raised floors, are all open. The sliding doors, or 
windows, or walls — call them what you please — 
are removed from the three or four sides, leav- 
ing only the posts that support the roof. We 
can see only one piece of furniture, a chest of 
drawers. The hibaohi, or fire box, with its hand- 
ful of glowing charcoal, with the tiny bronze 
tea kettle over it on a tripod, stands in the centre 
of the room — the houses generally have but one 
room. A few mottoes taken from the Buddhist 
books, are hanging on the rear wall; and be- 
side them the little god-shelf, with tlie idol in 
the centre, two vases with green leaves in either 
of them on each side of this, and two lamps, 



A JIN-EIKI-SHA JAUNT TO DAI BUTZ. 63 

saucers of oil with wicks afloat on either side 
of these, and, perhaps, a cup of rice and one of 
tea, placed there as offerings this morning. The 
floor is carpeted, not with Brussels nor Ingrain, 
but with rice-straw mats, each three feet by six 
feet, and two inches thick. The kitchen stove, 
an open stone, charcoal brazier, stands on the 
beaten ground in a corner, and over it a large 
closet, where in one half are kept the dishes, 
and in the other the quilts that are brought out 
at night and laid on the floor for sleeping on. 
Only these and nothing more, except the people. 
"Everything is as neat and clean as can be. 
The woodwork is not painted, but it is washed 
two or three times daily. The floors of the 
little porches glisten; for when they are 
washed, a little soot is mixed with the water, 
and plenty of elbow-grease applied. Soap, there 
is none ; they do not need it, and never use it. 
Mamma, with little baby strapped on her back 
under her outer garment, is busy, with both 
hands thus set free, sweeping or scrubbing; 



64 THE ANSOXS IN ASIATIC TEMPLES. 

obasan — or grandmother — is mending some- 
body's stockings, and some of the children are 
reading, some outside playing their favorite 
game of battledore and shuttlecock. 

"In front of the house, the shoes, from 
mamma's big ones to baby's wee ones, all 
stand in a row just as they left them when 
they entered. For they sit on their heels on 
the floor. They spread their trays with dinner 
on them, on the floor; they sleep on the floor; 
so the floor must be kept clean, and every one 
goes about in his stocking feet. There are no 
hats hanging around; mamma never gets any 
spring bonnet; and Koshi never has to ask: 
'Where's my hat?' for they never wear any, 
not even when they are little babies, and are 
exposed all day long to the hot sun. Their 
square-cut, blue cotton clothes are gathered at 
the waist by a girdle or sash — the girls' sashes 
are just 'gorgeous.' There are no bias plaitings, 
nor cuts, nor gores; the sleeves, long and square, 
are pockets as well. 



A JIN-RIKI-SHA JAUNT TO DAI BUTZ. 65 

"But we will leave them and go on. Now 
we come to a bridge, and up, up, up, then down, 
down, down, just like going over an arch. We 
pass the mountains; children come out crying: 

" ^Anata ohaiyo ! ' ^Anata ohaiyo ! ' 

"This means ^good-morning, good-morning.' 
Then, handing us great bunches of red and pink 
and white and variegated camelias, they scamper 
oif before we can thank them. 

"At a tea-house, for a tempo apiece, we get 
a cup of tea and some cakes and sugar-coated 
beans. A tempo is a large oval coin of gun 
metal, about as heavy as a silver dollar, but 
worth only about four-fifths of a cent in our 
money. On through more rice-flats, and occa- 
sionally through fields where barley or wheat 
has been grown, and over more hills, through 
more farming villages, and we come to Kama- 
kura — Kamakura, a city that might celebrate ten 
centennials, for it is over a thousand years old ; 
and seven hundred years ago it was a most 
celebrated city. Old houses, old trees, old 

E 



66 THE ANSOIfS IN ASIATIC TEMPLES. 

moats, with moss-covered stones, old bridges, 
old monasteries, old temples, whose steps have 
been hollowed out by the feet of the thousands 
of worshipers who, during these hundreds of 
years, have passed up and down. 

"Again we stop at a tea-house for our 
luncheon. After taking off our shoes, we are 
shown to a little room in the second story, or 
rather a little room, was made for us, for the 
pretty waiting-maid deftly put the paper slid- 
ing-doors in the grooves, and we are shut in. 
After we were rested, we again started out. 

"Dai Butz is only a mile and a half away. 
We passed beneath great bird-rests, which are 
upright pillars of stone, with two stone slabs on 
their tops. We came to a great red gateway, 
fifty feet high. In compartments on either side 
are two gigantic red idols, a sort of Gog and 
Magog, the guardians of the entrance. Before 
the idols are wire screens, such as protect store 
windows; and hanging on these are mementoes 
of the visits of pilgrims — ^giants' straw-sandals, 



A JIN-EIKI-SHA JAUNT TO DAI BUTZ. 67 

locks of hair, pictures, garments, cooking uten- 
sils, and nobody knows what alL 

"But what is the man doing with the paper 
in his hand ? He is reading something that is 
written on it. Now he puts it in his mouth, 
chews it, makes a ' spit-ball ' of it, and throws 
it at the grating. It sticks, and he looks happy. 
The paper contained his prayer, and because it 
adhered to the wire grating, he thinks his prayer 
has been heard by the gods. If it had fallen to 
the ground, he would have thought that the 
gods would not hear him. 

"Just now the road seemed to end in a clump 
of trees. But we followed the road, and there — 
beautiful! wonderful! — there, riorht before us — 
and we have not been permitted to see it until 
just the right moment for getting in the best 
position to perceive its beauty — there sits Dai 
Butz on the lotus lily. There he has sat, as he 
sits to-day, for six hundred years, without 
shelter from sun, or Avind, or rain, or snow, 
or earthquake; not some ugly, hideous monster, 



68 THE AXSOXS IN ASIATIC TEMPLES. 

but the beautiful idol, Dai Butz, with face 
turned to the ocean — the great Pacific, which 
stretches away for five thousand miles, until its 
waters wash the shores of America — as though 
looking for the coming of the ships that are to 
bring those who shall destroy his worship — there 
sits the bronze image of the Great Buddha. 
The name is made up of Dai, great, and Butz, 
Buddha. He is sitting in Oriental style, upon 
his heels; his thumbs are brought together; the 
head is bent forward; and the eyes fastened 
upon the thumb nails. The position is a fixed, 
easy one, nothing strained or unnatural. The 
features, the limbs, the drapery, are in perfect 
proportion, and in perfectly natural arrangement. 
Behind and beyond, the hills come sloping down, 
and are always clothed with green, and furnish 
a beautiful background for the beautiful idol. 

"The idol is not without expression. On the 
contrary, it is all expression, and expressive of 
one great thought — it teaches the one great 
lesson of Buddhism. The ^pose,' the expres- 



A JIN-RIKI-SHA JAUNT TO DAI BUTZ. 69 

sion, indicate contemplation, or active uncon- 
sciousness, self-absorption. Buddha is wrapt in 
thought. We need no guide to tell us of its 
meaning. And it is all on so gigantic a scale — 
fifty feet high. Who cast it, who designed it, 
who was its artist architect, no one can tell. He 
is gone, forgotten; but his work remains. But 
our enchantment is broken. We are reminded 
that it is, after all, an idol, as we are jostled by 
the white-clad pilgrims, who come bowing again 
and again, mumbling over their prayers. Sad, 
sad, sad! We, too, draw nearer. 

"Even when looked at closely, there is no 
coarseness about the idol; the bronze plates are 
joined evenly, and time has scarcely marked it, 
except to mellow and enrich its color. The 
bronze has more gold mixed in the alloy than 
bronzes usually have. We entered the idol — 
for it is both an idol and a temple — a window in 
the back lets in the light. We climbed up steep 
steps, and stood on a level with his chin. Idols 
small and great, idols handsome and ugly, idols 



70 THE ARSONS IN ASIATIC TEMPLES. 

grotesque and hideous, idols of stone and of 
wood, idols of bronze and of gilt, idols of all 
sorts and shapes and sizes, are arranged around 
its interior. Other foreigners have been here 
before us, and some have left their marks, their 
autographs. One vandal has printed, in large 
black letters, on the breast of a beautiful gilt 
image of Kwanon, the ^ Queen of Heaven/ 
WEBB. 

'' I hope that you are keeping up your reading 
on missions, and that you are following us in our 
journeys with your loving prayers. 
"Affectionately yours, 

" Maegaeet Anson." 

It was rather a difficult task for Mrs. Anson 
to get her letter finished, as every once in awhile 
the sliding doors would be moved aside by some 
curious Japanese, anxious to see the foreign lady 
and her little girl. But we will return to the 
arrival of our friends at the Hotel Yumoto. 



CHAPTER Y. 

OVER TEE MOUNTAINS TO KIOTO. 

rpHE hotel at Yumoto, and its surroundings, 
were delightful. On one side rose the 
mountains in all their grandeur, and on the 
other flowed a sparkling creek. As the hotel- 
life along the road is very much the same as at 
Yumoto, we may as well take a peep at the tired 
travelers here as in any of the hotels along the 
Tokaido to Kioto. 

"Would you like a bath?" was the first 
question asked by Dr. Olden, who had joined 
the travelers a little way back, and who was 
going on a missionary tour on the other side 
of the mountains. 

"Yes,'' said Mr. Anson, immediately. " Yes, 
indeed, for I am very tired and dusty." 

" But I think I had better tell you about the 

hotel baths in Japan, so as to prepare you for 

71 



72 THE ANSONS IN ASIATIC TEMPLES. 

what may be before you. Just here I think we 
can make an arrangement with the landlord, by 
which our party can have the exclusive use of 
one of the baths for a few hours, so that we can 
go in one by one.'' 

"Why," said Bertie, "how do you go? — by 
twos?" 

"Yes, and sometimes by dozens. The com- 
monest bath you will find is a box three feet 
square and two feet deep, filled with hot water. 
It is a bath, not baths, remember. About three 
or four o'clock in the afternoon, the tub is filled, 
and a charcoal fire is built in the little stove let 
into one side of the tub. When the water is 
hot, notice is given to the favored guest, who 
takes his bath; when he is done, another steps 
in, and so they go on until late in the evening. 
Sometimes forty or fifty people use the same 
bath — the same water. In Yumoto, and some 
other places, the baths are larger, six or seven 
feet square; and there are several of them. The 
hot water comes in an incessant stream from the 



OVER THE MOUNTAINS TO KIOTO. 73 

bowels of the earth; it is boiled in Mother 
Nature's kettle. Of course, the water is always 
changed.'^ 

Dr. Olden saw the landlord, and after a little 
parleying and the promise of an extra chadai, or 
a fee, one of the baths was shut off by sliding 
doors, and it was reserved for the foreign guests. 
When they were through with their baths, they 
all voted them the best baths they had ever tried. 
The minerals of the hot waters seemed to extract 
all the weariness from their bodies. After a 
light supper — light because there w^as no very 
substantial food to be had — all prepared for bed. 
A screen was run through the room, giving the 
choicest section to Bessie and her mamma, while 
the gentlemen and Bertie slept in the adjoining 
room, which was screened off by papered sliding 
doors. There were no bedsteads, no hair mat- 
tresses, no feather pillows, nor yet any blankets. 
Two quilts were doubled up; sheets, which the 
guests had brought with them, and which were 
plentifully dusted with flea-powder, were spread 



74 THE AKSONS IN ASIATIC TEMPLES. 

over the quilts. A quilt was rolled up for a 
pillow, and traveling-rugs were used for cover- 
ings. After family worship, all turned in, and 
soon the "melody of the purling brook," as the 
doctor called it, lulled them to sleep. 

Soon after daylight the hotel was alive again ; 
the guests ate their breakfast hurriedly, so as to 
get an early start for the climb up the moun- 
tains. A basket chair, slung from a pole, to be 
carried on the shoulders of two coolies, was se- 
cured for Mrs. Anson, and one for Bessie. The 
rest preferred to walk. The road was built 
hundreds of years ago. Gigantic cryptomeria 
line the way. Up, up they clambered over the 
huge round bowlders with which the road is 
paved — save the mark! The ascent was, in 
some places, wonderfully steep, almost at an 
angle of forty-five degrees. They climbed three 
thousand feet before they reached the top ; then 
came a slight descent of three or four hundred 
feet, and they reached Hakon6, twelve and a 
half miles, in five hours. The air was so brae- 



OVER#THE MOUNTAINS TO KIOTO. 75 

ing and pure, that they felt as if they had 
scarcely climbed at all. 

They determined to go to Jigohu in the 
afternoon. Jigohu means, literally, Great 
Hell ; that is the proper name, the name given 
by the Japanese a century or more ago. After 
a boat ride on Hakon^ Lake, they commenced 
another climb of a thousand feet. As they 
neared the place to which they were going — 
and the way was exceedingly difficult — vegeta- 
tion ceased, and the odor of sulphur was per- 
ceptible. The guide now went in advance, 
carefully testing the way, to see if it would 
bear them. They could hear, as they entered 
the place, the boiling of the water but a few 
feet beneath them. Soon they were able to see 
the steam arising from various vent holes, and, 
after a little, could see the water itself, boiling 
and bubbling, and casting off its sulphury odor. 
All around lay masses of sulphur. The ground, 
in places, was so soft that they could thrust their 
Alpine stocks almost through the crust. It was a 



76 THE ANSONS IN ASIATIC TEMPLES. 

really dangerous place, and they did not tarry 
very long there. The Japanese had, fittingly, 
one might think, placed an image of the God of 
Hell, Yema, in the midst of the Solfatara. They 
took a bath at the foot of the hill, in hot water, 
strongly impregnated with sulphur, and returned 
to the hotel at Hakon§. After a supper on de- 
licious mountain trout, which Dr. Olden cooked, 
they tumbled into bed. They were not in a 
hurry to get up the next morning, as all ached 
more or less. 

Since Dr. Olden would have to remain in 
Hakon^ for a day or two, to attend a quarterly 
meeting of the native Christians of this district 
that was to be mainly a business meeting, he 
offered to find a guide for Mr. Anson and Bertie 
to take them to Atamiour, the mountains by the 
sea. Just then some Japanese urchins began to 
cry out, ^'Ijin-san, ijin-san/^ ^^ Foreigners, for- 
eigners." Dr. Olden looked to see who it was, 
and recognized two gentlemen of his acquaint- 
ance, merchants in Yokoliama. They had been 



OVER THE MOUNTAINS TO KIOTO. 77 

a little way from the village of Hakon^ on a 
fishing expedition, and had set out this morning 
to find a guide to take them to Atami. All 
were agreed that it Avas a very fortunate meet- 
ing. Soon all were ready for the start. Mrs. 
Anson and Bessie stood in front of the hotel and 
watched the travelers until they were out of 
sight. For the rest of the journey, I cannot do 
better than to quote from Mr. Anson's letter to 
Deacon Root, since he wrote it very soon after 
the exciting trip over the hills: 

*^A few days ago we planned to visit Atami- 
by-the-sea, a place famed for its hot sea- water 
baths, impregnated with sulphur, and for a 
spouting geyser. It was a fifteen-mile walk up 
and down the mountains. There were three 
ranges to be crossed. The narrow foot-path 
wound around as near to the tops of the moun- 
tains as possible, yet there was much going up 
and down. I judge that there was a descent of 
about five thousand feet and two thousand feet 
of ascent in going to Atami. 



78 THE ANSONS IN ASIATIC TEMPLES, 

'^ Our plan, at starting, was not very definite. 
Our guide assured us that it was not a long walk 
to Higanesan, from whose tops ten provinces of 
Japan can be seen; and we thought that, per- 
haps, we should return from there and not go 
to Atami. But when we got there, we deter- 
mined to go on. We reached Atami at four, 
took a bath, and ate our dinner. While engaged 
in this, the wind shifted and the clouds began 
to gather thickly. We had eaten leisurely, as 
we had concluded to stay all night at Atami, 
even without our luggage. The wiser ones 
shook their heads now, though, and declared that, 
if it rained, it would be a tremendous task, and 
a dangerous one, to climb the wet and slippery 
mountain paths. To go back at night seemed 
the smaller evil. Our guide, who had lost his 
way once during the afternoon, declared that he 
was now sure of his way, and that he would 
prepare torches for us. So we made up our 
minds to go. If we could get up to the top of 
the first mountain, a climb of over three thou- 



OVER THE MOUNTAINS TO KIOTO. 79 

sand feet, we could get our torches at an old 
temple there. 

"We marched off, in Indian file, on a steady 
tramp. Quickly the hill was left beneath us, 
then the mountain, and just as it began to be 
quite dark, we saw the temple before us. We 
quaffed some hot tea while our guide was getting 
ready the torches. The torches were made of 
bamboo grasses, tied tightly together; they were 
about six feet long, and six inches in diameter. 

"But we were doomed to be disappointed. 
When we were on the mountain top, the wind 
fairly howled about our ears; to carry a torch 
lighted was out of the question. We were all 
lightly clad for walking ; so when we rested to 
take breath, we crouched down behind a rock, or 
sat in some hollow in the path. Fortunately, 

Mr. S- had been accustomed to following 

trails in the woods of the Adirondack Moun- 
tains when off hunting. Our guide could not 
help us in the least ; he was perfectly bewildered ; 
so we installed Mr. S as leader. He saw 



80 THE ANSONS IN ASIATIC TEMPLES. 

the path; we only saw his white canvas shoes. 
There were many dangerous portions of the 
road, where the path lay close beside precipitous 
places. We came safely by all these, however, 
thank God! We could not yet light our torches; 
the wind was too strong, though it seemed to be 
dying away, and we were getting into the pro- 
tection of trees. Finally, we could go on no 
longer, and flung ourselves upon the ground in a 
sheltered place, and took some refreshment in 
the shape of crackers and raspberry jam. There 
was a solitary bottle of Avater. How good our 
luncheon tasted ! It seemed to put new life 
into us. 

"Off we started again; now with our guide 
holding his lighted torch, going in advance. 
One of us followed close after him, acting as 
pilot, calling out: 'Look out!' ^step up!' or 
* step down ! ' ^ slippery place ! ' ^ root ! ' ^ water ! ' 
and the like. It was quite serious business, I 
assure you. So for awhile longer. Then we 
saw a light in advance. What could it be? 



OVER THE MOUNTAINS TO KIOTO. 81 

We were a little anxious. Finally Mr. V. 
called out: 

"^ It is our landlord and his sons come out to 
hunt us up.' 

"We were glad to see them, indeed. In an 




FUJI-YAMA. 



hour, we reached the hotel, and dropped into 
bed for a sound sleep." 

A few mornings after, the luggage ^vas 

F 



82 THE ANSONS IN ASIATIC TEMPLES. 

gathered together, and after a breakfast on 
moimtain trout and biscuits, the descent of the 
mountains was commenced. Since it was so 
gradual and easy, even Mrs. Anson and Bessie 
walked. A little more than half-way down the 
mountain road they came to the Fuji- vie wing 
Terrace, whence a grand view of the sacred 
mountain, Fuji-yama, is to be obtained. For 
a day or two they were to travel around the 
base of this mountain, which rises to a height 
of fourteen thousand feet above the sea level. 
Pilgrims were constantly met, clad in their 
white robes, and with little bells tied to their 
girdles, indicating that they had made the 
ascent of Fuji-yama, and their banners showed 
that they belonged to the sect of "Sons of Fuji." 
At the foot of the mountains BctshaSj a kind 
of diligence carriage, were taken. Away across 
the paddy-swamps, where the rice was being 
cultivated, or through the tea-gardens, now up 
slight hills, now along by the sea-shore, away 
they sped. Day by day passed by, each full 



OVER THE MOUNTAINS TO KIOTO. 



83 



to the brim with gladsome enjoyment, until the 
city of Kioto came in sight. 

Just on the outskirts of Kioto, when pausing 
at a tea-house for a rest, Bertie, who had wan- 
dered a little further on the road to stretch his 




FLOWING INVOCATION. 



limbs, came to a small stream of water running 
by the road-side, in the middle of w^hich was 
a cloth suspended at the corners upon four 
bamboo sticks, with a dipper resting in it. 
"What can this be for?" thought Bertie. 



84 THE ANSONS IN ASIATIC TEMPLES. 

Just then several Japanese peasants came by, 
stopping, however, long enough to dip up some 
water, and each poured a ladleful upon the 
cloth, letting it run through. While Bertie's 
bewilderment was increasing, a young Japanese, 
dressed in foreign clothes, stopped to rest under 
a tree ; and, instead of the usual OhaiyOj said 
" Good-morning/' 

*^Do you speak English," asked Bertie. 

"Yes, I am studying in the mission-school 
in Kioto.'' 

"Can you tell me what that is for?" — point- 
ing to the cloth and dipper. 

"That is the NagarS Kanjo, the Flowing 
Prayer. Our people believe that when a 
mother dies while giving birth to a child she 
goes into hell. She must stay there until this 
cloth wears out and the water no longer drips 
through, but runs in a steady stream ; then her 
soul is delivered from hell. But often the priests 
sell a tougli cloth to poor people who cannot 
pay much, and a thin, worn cloth to the rich." 



OVER THE MOUNTAINS TO KIOTO. 85 

" What a shame ! " said Bertie. 

"Yes, it is; but the people are learuing the 
priests' tricks, and soon every one will see that 
these deceivers are seeking their own good, and 
not the good of the nation; and it will help 
to do away with our old heathen faith.'' 

Just here the party came up, and paused long 
enough to listen to Bertie's story of the Flowing 
Invocation. Then, courteously thanking the 
Japanese student, they passed on towards the 
sacred city. 



CHAPTER YT. 

THE SACRED CITY OF KIOTO. 

"TTTHAT Jerusalem is to the Jews, and Benares 
is to the Hindus, and Mecca is to the 
Mohammedans, is Kioto to the Japanese. To 
tell all that Bertie and Bessie saw while in 
Kioto, would fill a volume. Just before they 
sailed from Kobe, below Kioto, for China, they 
were talking over that which had struck them 
most forcibly in their visit to Kioto. Bessie 
thought that she would remember longest the 
view of the city from the mountains east of 
Kioto, to which they had one day climbed; 
but Bertie thought that he would never forget 
their yisit to the mission-school and theological 
seminary, and their afternoon in the great 
Temple of Nishi-Hongwanji. But we will go 
back to their entrance to the town. 

86 



THE SACRED CITY OF KIOTO. 87 

Passing by several hotels, wearied and tired 
from the long jin-riki-sha ride, and anxious to 
reach a resting spot, they finally drew up before 
the Mariyama Hotel, the place where foreigners 
generally stop when in Kioto. When Dr. 
Olden left them at Shidzuoka, he had employed 
for Mr. Anson as a guide, a young man named 
Sasaki, who spoke English remarkably well, and 
who was very familiar with the country through 
which they were to travel. It was at Sasaki's 
suggestion that the Mariyama Hotel was chosen. 
As it was growing rapidly dark and the for- 
eigners were very weary, they were not dis- 
posed to look farther, at any rate, and, as it 
turned out later, they could not have found 
any better hotel. 

After a light supper, and a settling of accounts 
with the jin-riki-sha pullers, and a brief walk 
about the hotel garden, the party settled down 
to rest. Mr. and Mrs. Anson occupied one 
room, from the corner of which a part was 
screened off with a six-fold screen for Bessie's 



88 THE ANSOXS IX ASIATIC TEMPLES. 

use, while Bertie with Sasaki occupied an ad- 
joining room. 

Sasaki watched with great curiosity while 
Bertie took out his pocket Testament before 
undressing, read for a little, and then kneeled 
upon the matting to pray. 

" Where are your gods ? '' asked Sasaki. 

"Why, don't you know that there is but one 
God, and that he forbids us to make any image 
of him? I thought that you, who can speak 
such good English, would know that,'' replied 
Bertie. 

"No, I learned my English at the Univer- 
sity, and they never said anything about the 
American God." 

"No," added Bertie, "he is not an American 
God; he is the God of all nations and all 
worlds." 

Then, as they were lying side by side, there 
followed a long conversation about the Christian 
religion. Finally, Sasaki asked Bertie to let 
liim see his "sacred book," and on taking it 



THE SACr.ED CITY OF KIOTO. 89 

he went to the lamp and began reading the 
first chapter of Matthew's Gospel. The frequent 
Naruhodos showed how deeply he was interested. 
Finally, laying down the Testament, he bent his 
head in thought, then taking up the Testament 
again, he turned back as if trying to find some- 
thing he had read. Bertie was lying quietly, 
watching with anxious interest and waiting for 
Sasaki to say something. After Sasaki had 
found that which he was looking for, he bent 
over his head, laid the Testament open before 
him, and commenced to read in a low voice: 
" Our Father which art in Heaven.'' 
Then, as if satisfied, he laid himself down. 
He was very restless, as if unable to sleep. 
Finally, Bertie said: 

"What do you think of what you read?" 
"Why, I thought you were asleep." 
" No, I could not go to sleep ; I was anxious 
about you. I wish very much that you were a 
Christian." 

"Well, I never knew anjthing about this. 



90 THE ANSONS IN ASIATIC TEMPLES. 

I heard our priests, of course, saying that the 
Jesus religion was a bad religion, and that we 
should go to hell if we left our old worship and 
became Christians; and I never thouo-ht much 
about it." 

"Well, jou will think about it now, won't 
you?" 

"Yes, I will.'' 

" Will you let me make you a present of my 
Testament?" said Bertie. "I can easily get 
another when we get to Kob^." 

"Yes; and I thank you very much." 

This was the end of the conversation, but 
not the end of Sasaki's interest in Christian- 
ity. For, after they had returned to America, 
Mr. Anson received a letter from one of the 
missionaries in Kioto, saying that a few days 
after they had gone he happened to meet Sasaki. 
AYhen he mentioned that he was a missionary, 
Sasaki drew out Bertie's Testament and asked if 
that was his religion. On being told that it was, 
Sasaki asked if he might ask some questions. 



THE SACRED CITY OF KIOTO. 91 

The missionaiy encouraged and helped him, in- 
vited him to his school and home and church ; 
and, it resulted, after several months of patient 
inquiry on Sasaki's part, in his becoming a 
Christian. 

On sliding aside the windows, the next morn- 
ing, Mrs. Anson was surprised at the charming 
view. The grand old spreading fir-trees, the 
lovely garden, the richly wooded slope beyond, 
and between was the plain of the vast cit}', with 
its beautifully proportioned and elegantly shaped 
pagodas rising every here and there in and 
about the city. For some time she stood en- 
joying the scene; then calling Mr. Anson and 
Bessie, they sat upon the balcony and watched 
the scene below them. In one of the little 
dwellings at the foot of the hill, the doors had 
all been pushed aside, and the woman of the 
house was bustling about getting the breakfast 
ready. Soon she was joined by her husband 
and child, and they saw them stepping to one 
side of the room where the husband pushed 



92 THE AXSONS IN ASIATIC TEMPLES. 

aside the doors of the god-shelf, on which were 
some images, and below the shelf, in the recess, 
was hanging a scroll picture of the Seven House- 
hold Gods. Offerings were placed on the shelf, 
they bowed in prayer, and then turned to the 
morning meal. Later in the day, Bertie, at 
Bessie's request, bought a scroll like that in the 
servant's house, and another with the picture of 
the foremost of the Household Gods, Fukuroku 
Jin, the god who gives long life to his worshipers. 
He has a great, tall head, grown very large by 
thinking so much. His eyebrows and beard 
are white and snowy. The tortoise and the 
crane are Fukuroku Jin's pets. Sasaki pointed 
to the graceful form of the goose in the picture, 
and said: 

"Do you know that when we Japanese wish 
to compliment a person, we compare him to the 
wild goose?" 

After breakfast they went for a day's picnic 
to the Eastern Mountains, the Higashi Yama, for 
Mr. Anson thought that if they could get a bird's- 



THE SACRED CITY OF KIOTO. 93 

eye view of the city and surrounding country, 
they would much more enjoy their rambles 
through the city and among its temples. This 
opinion proved correct. A magnificent prospect 
over town and country was spread before them. 
The city stretches north and south, and the 
streets are laid out like those of Philadelphia, 
in regular right angles. 

Kioto has nearly three hundred thousand in- 
habitants, and over a thousand temples. It 
began to be an important place about eleven 
hundred years since. Away in the northern 
section of the city is the palace, while in the 
extreme south the railroad station could be 
plainly seen, and the railroad stretching away, a 
glittering thread, towards Kob6. Not far from 
the station, the monstrous temple of Nishi 
Hongwanji could be plainly seen, and other 
temples and pagodas scattered hither and thither. 

Well on in tlie afternoon, the picnickers 
returned to tlie city. At the hotel they found 
a number of curio dealers waiting to sell to the 



94 THE AKSONS IN ASIATIC TEMPLES. 

foreigners curiosities in bronze and bamboo, iu 
ivory and silk, works of art and ornament, as 
well as useful objects. By Sasaki's advice, Mr. 
Anson bought nothing of them, but waited 
until he could go out among the stores. Besides 
the fact that these dealers asked a much higher 
price than the articles were worth, they were not 
such as Mr. Anson wished to carry home with 
him. 

In the early evening they took a stroll among 
the stores, T\here Mr. Anson purchased a number 
of discarded idols, and where he secured a large 
number of volumes of picture books with en- 
gravings by famous Japanese artists, chief of 
whom was Hokusai. The next day they had 
planned to visit the temple of the Hongwanji, 
but it rained steadily all day, so that they were 
kept house-bound. This gave them a chance to 
write up their letters, and to examine, with 
Sasaki's help, the picture books they had 
bought. Hour after hour passed rapidly away 
in this pleasant occupation. Sasaki had stories 




(9GJ 



THE SACRED CITY OF KIOTO. 97 

to tell concerning most of the pictures — fables, 
parables, and historic occurrences. The re- 
ligious element of the Japanese nature appeared 
in almost every picture, and very much informa- 
tion concerning their religious views was gained 
from the pictures. One curious work was 
Hokusai's "One Hundred Views of Mount 
Fuji,'' another was his "Man Girafu,'' or "Ten 
Thousand Pictures.'' In one of these books, 
Bertie noticed a picture of a man driving the 
devils out of his house, on the eve of the New 
Year, with beans that had been blessed by the 
priest. This Hokusai is the most famous and 
most popular of all Japanese artists. 

When Bertie rose the next morning, he went 
quickly to see how the weather might be, for one 
rainy day in a Japanese hotel is quite enough to 
tax one's patience. He was delighted to find 
the air wondrously pure and the sky clear, while 
a strong breeze was rapidly drying up the mud. 

The next few days were spent in visiting the 
most noted temples under Sasaki's guidance. 

G 



98 THE ARSONS IN ASIATIC TEMPLES. 

From Kobe, Bertie wrote to his Sunday-school 
teacher about their visit to one of the most 
famous of Kioto's temples, that of the Nishi 
Hongwanji : 

^'My Deae Teacher: Since we came to 
Kioto, I have seen so many beautiful temples 
and so many curious things, that I hardly know 
where to begin in writing to you. Before I 
write of our sight-seeing, I want to tell you that 
the young Japanese who is our guide seems in- 
terested in Christianity, and he often reads in my 
Testament. The day before we left Kioto, we 
went to the great temple of the Hongwanji. 
Sasaki, our guide, tells me that in the year 1262, 
a man named Shinran Shonin, a sort of Martin 
Luther, founded a sect called the Monto sect, as 
a protest against the ritualistic habits of some 
other Buddhists. The Monto sect is the most 
powerful sect in all Japan ; some of its priests 
have studied in England. The Monto sect has 
temples in all the great cities, with vast en- 
closures and huge sweeping roofs. 



THE SACKED CITY OF KIOTO. 99 

" When we went to see this temple, we saw also 
the great priest, Akamatz; he spoke a few words 
to us in very pure English. It is a beautiful 
temple. The walls have golden panels, or, 
rather, the sliding doors are covered with gold- 
leaf, with pictures of birds and flowers painted 
upon them. The roof is held up by round 
pillars made of kinohi, or sun- wood. The altar 
is painted in black lacquer, the same that we see 
on the beautiful Japanese trays and cabinets. 
The shrine is very beautiful. I asked Sasaki 
where the idols were, and he told me that they 
did not have any, for the Monto sect does not 
believe in idol worship. Yet I remember that 
in the Monto Temple in Tokio they had one 
idol, which, we were told, was the quintessence 
of all the gods. It is a vast, dim, silent temple. 
I noticed that one flower in particular was 
painted on the walls, and cast in bronze; papa 
said that it was a lotus flower, and the priest 
said that it meant purity; for, as purity grows 
out of the filth of men's hearts, so the lotus 



100 THE ANSONS IN ASIATIC TEMPLES. 



grows out of slime and mud. Out in the 
gardens were many very beautiful objects, but 
they had nothing to do with the temple. 

" Yester- 



HIOGO BUDDHA. 



day we took 
a trip to 
Hiogo, and 
Ave saw the 




beautiful image of Buddha, a photograph of 
which I send to you in this letter. 



THE SACRED CITY OF KIOTO. 101 

" We often talk about home, and when we get 
back I shall have many things to show you and 
to tell you. 

"Your affectionate scholar, 

"Bertie Anson." 



CHAPTER YII. 

TO THE LAND OF TEAS AND QUEUES. 

"XT' ARLY one morniug, a day or two later, tlie 
steamer sailed from Kob^ for Shanghai, 
China. Though the steamer would sail for 
some days to come within the limits of the 
Empire of Japan, and though the Ansons 
would once more set foot on Japanese soil, 
yet the visit to Japan was practically over. 
As they leaned over the stern of the steamer, 
watching the fast disappearing houses of Kob^, 
the entire family seemed to be absorbed in 
thought. 

"I wonder if I shall ever see Japan again,'' 
said Bertie to himself. " I hope so, for I feel as 
if I was leaving home. I wonder how Sasaki 
will get along. I hope that he will become a 
Christian. If he does, why, may-be I have had 
something to do with it. Perhaps I can come 

103 



TO THE LAND OF TEAS AKD QUEUES. 103 

back, when I get to be a man, as a missionary to 
Japan." 

The steamer was named the Hiroshima Maru, 
and carried, at the mast-head, the flag of the 
company to which she belonged, a company 
composed entirely of Japanese, the Mitsii Bishi 
Company, whose symbol is but a translation of 
its name, three diamonds arranged with their 
points touching. The steamer was a side- 
wheeler, with comfortable, airy cabins; not so 
large nor so fast as the screw-propellers, but 
much more comfortable, except in severe storms. 

After leaving Kobe, the steamer ploughed its 
way through the Inland Sea of Japan, famed 
for its beautiful scenery. It was like a great 
lake, yet, in reality, it was but an inlet of the 
ocean. Through the w^liole two hundred and 
fifty miles of its length, one can always see the 
shore, and often the steamer approaches quite 
close to it. Fleets of junks were passed, and 
once a small steamer plying between Nagasaki, 
Simoneseki, and Kobe. Simoneseki is at the 



104 THE ARSONS IN ASIATIC TEMPLES. 

other end of the Inland Sea, but since foreigners 
are not permitted to land there, it not being an 
open port, the Ansons had to be content with the 
view from the steamer's deck. But as they 
were to have a day and a half in Nagasaki, 
they did not mind the loss. 

The harbor of Nagasaki is very much like 
the harbor of Rio Janeiro, in South America. 
It is a bay surrounded by wooded hills, Avith its 
mouth seaward; just in the opening, a sort of 
natural breakwater, lies the Island of Pappen- 
berg. 

"Have you ever heard the story of that 
island,'' asked Mr. Anson. 

" It seems to me that I have heard the name, 
and I remember thinking that it sounded unlike 
a Japanese word; but I don't remember the 
story," said Mrs. Anson. 

" Oh, tell it, papa," Bertie and Bessie asked, 
in the same breath. 

"Suppose we wait until we get ashore, then 
we will climb up the hills where we can get a 



TO THE LAND OF TEAS AND QUEUES. 105 

good view of the island, when I will tell it to 
you." 

Since they were not encumbered with baggage, 
the Ansons had no difficulty in speedily getting 
ashore. For several hours they strolled through 
the narrow streets of Nagasaki, among its one- 
storied houses. Back from the houses, at the 
foot of the hill, they came to the Temple of 
The Ever-merciful Buddha, with its gigantic 
roofs. 

Ascending the well-worn stone steps, they 
were soon inside the temple, where worship was 
just about to begin. Clouds of incense filled 
the air, and the long-drawn, oft-repeated prayer, 
Namu Amida Butsee, was heard. The peo- 
ple began to count the beads upon their rosa- 
rfes, the priests to beat the drums, while the 
chief priest proceeded to raise the veil before 
the idol. After a little the sacred books were 
brought by an attendant, and a pile placed by 
the side of each squatting priest. Then at a 
signal from the chief priest, all the while in- 



106 THE ANSONS IN ASIATIC TEMPLES. 

toniDg a prayer, the priests took up volume 
after volume, and began to swing the leaves 
open and shut, thus with each volume three 
times. All the while the chief priest kept 
tapping some bronze vases before him, with 
his bawble, while he intoned a prayer and 
threw incense upon the brazier. When all 
the books had been opened and shut — in their 
estimation, just as good as reading them all 
through — the veil was drawn before the shrine, 
and the service was over for the day. In the 
rear of the temple they saw an old grave- 
yard, in which were grave-stones with the sym- 
bol of the lotus flower, and, fi-equently, a San- 
skrit letter. 

After a luncheon of fish and rice, with a few 
biscuits and some condensed milk, the Ansons, 
guided by one of the coolies, climbed the steep 
hill in the rear of the town. This was arrang^ed 
in great steps, and was cultivated all the way to 
the top. From the summit a beautiful view of 
the city and harbor was to be had. As they 



TO THE LAND OF TEAS AND QUEUES. 107 

settled around Mr. Anson in a group, Bertie re- 
minded him of the promised story. 

" I hardly know where to begin," said Mr. 
Anson; "but I judge that the best place will be 
the coming of St. Francis Xavier to Japan. 
Do you remember hearing that name before, 
Bertie?" 

" Yes, sir ; he was one of the followers of the 
Jesuit, Loyola, and they sometimes call him the 
Apostle to the Indies. Was he ever in Japan ? " 

"Yes, over two hundred and thirty years ago 
he came to Christianize Japan." 

" But," interrupted Bertie, " I thought you 
said, papa, when we were in Tokio, that it was 
only about thirty years since foreigners were 
permitted to come to Japan." 

"True enough, as to more recent times; but 
several hundred years ago foreigners, the Dutch 
and the Portuguese, in particular, were allowed 
to live in Japan, and to trade with the Japanese. 
My story is connected with both peoples, and 
shows how it came about that for a great many 



108 THE A:N^S0NS in ASIATIC TEMPLES. 

years, until 1853, in fact, foreigners were for- 
bidden to come to Japan." 

" Who forbade them, papa?" 

" Why, the Japanese, of course ; for they 
have always been their own masters. Two 
hundred and fifty years ago the Dutch and the 
Portuguese were great sailors and traders; they 
discovered many countries, and opened up com- 
merce with many others already known. These 
two nations were rivals, and in their rivalry 
often said bitter words of one another. The 
Portuguese were the first to come to Japan, 
and the Dutch came not long after. The 
Dutch did nothing at all to Christianize the 
Japanese ; but the Portuguese were very earnest 
in this work. In the year 1549, Francis Xavier 
came to Japan, and in thirty or forty years it 
was said that there were not less than five 
hundred thousand converts to Christianity. 
Some of the princes were converted, and were 
very zealous Roman Catholics, anxious to do 
almost anything to make their people, too, 



TO THE LAND OF TEAS AND QUEUES. 109 

become Roman Catholics. The Dutch noticed 
the success of the Portuguese, and, in their 
jealousy, tried to find occasion to put a check 
to it. They were not long in finding a reason ; 
for an embassy to Kome and some rather boast- 
ful declarations on the part of some of the 
Japanese princes, gave the Dutch a chance to 
suggest that the Portuguese priests were plot- 
ting to make Japan a part of the possession 
of the Roman Catholic Church, under the con- 
trol of Portugal. Possibly there was good 
ground for the suggestion. At any rate, it 
was enough to inspire the Japanese rulers with 
the determination to check the progress of the 
Portuguese, and to utterly extinguish Chris- 
tianity in Japan. 

'^ Do you notice," continued Mr. Anson, ^' that 
the Island of Pappenberg, lying in the mouth 
of the bay, has one side like a precipice? Well, 
from that steep rock thousands and thousands of 
Japanese Roman Catholics were hurled to death, 
just because they were Christians. About this 



110 THE ANSONS IN ASIATIC TEMPLES. 

time, in the whole country, nearly a hundred 
thousand Christians were killed, the remainder 
forsaking, either really or only apparently, their 
Christian faith. Then an edict was issued, for- 
bidding the people to own Bibles or to worship 
Jesus, under pain of death, and commanding 
them to trample under foot the cross and every 
other Christian symbol. It was only a dozen 
years ago that these edict-boards were taken 
down, though for a few years before the edict 
was a dead letter. We will go off to Pappen- 
berg, if we have time to-morrow, and you can 
see close at hand the rock of death where so 
many perished." 

"There is another little island of which I 
have read, Dcshima; where is that?" asked 
Mrs. Anson. 

" That little island, lying yonder, not far from 
shore, about six or seven hundred yards square, 
is the one you mean. When the Japanese ex- 
pelled Christianity and drove out the Portu- 
guese, they gave the Dutch permission to live on 



TO THE LAND OF TEAS ANB QUEUES. Ill 

that little island. They could only leave the 
island once in three years to go up to Tokio. 
Only one ship a year was allowed to come to 
them in Japan from Holland. Tliere was a 
bridge from the shore to the island, where 
Japanese soldiers always stood on guard. From 
that day until the American sailor, Commodore 
Perry, came to Japan, in 1853, foreigners have 
been forbidden to- land in Japan.'' 

The next day was too stormy to permit of 
any excursion, and the family soon sought their 
quarters on the steamer, which were more pleas- 
ant, on a rainy day, than the Japanese hotel on 
shore. The work of putting in coal continued, 
tlie almost naked coolies not minding the rain. 
So tlie vessel was ready to steam out of port in 
the afternoon. Generally, it takes but two days 
to get across from ISTagasaki to Shanghai. The 
rain continued all night, pouring incessantly. 
Somewhere towards morning, the passengers 
were awakened by the tossing and heaving of 
the vessel, and — which is almost always noticed 



112 THE ANSONS IN ASIATIC TEMPLES. 

immediately when it happens — by the silence 
of the great engine. 

"What's the matter ?'' called out Bessie, in 
distress. 

" I don't know, my dear ; I will get up and 
see," answered Mr. Anson. " You all lie still 
until I come back.'' 

To lie still was no easy task, for the vessel 
was heaving so heavily that it threatened to spill 
them out of their berths. In the pantry they 
could hear dishes crashing. Overhead, sailors 
were calling to one another in hoarse tones, and 
the howling wind seemed almost immediately to 
carry away the sound of their voices. In fear 
and trembling, while Mr. Anson was away, 
Mrs. Anson and Bessie waited. 

"We are in a cyclone," were Mr. Anson's 
first words, as, accompanied by a watchman 
bringing a light, he returned. 

"Why don't they go on?" asked Mrs. Anson. 

"Because the rolling of the ship keeps one 
wheel almost always out of the water, and so 



TO THE LAND OF TEAS AND QUEUES. 113 

we could make no progress if the engine was in 
motion. ^^ 

" Is there any clanger ? " 

" Yes, we may get caught in the very centre 
of the cyclone, and then it would be all up with 
us. But the captain thiuks that' we are only in 
the outer edge of it; and so by laying to, we 
shall escape more serious damage." 

^^ More serious damage? Why, what damage 
is done ? " 

" Two of the small boats were washed away, 
and, while I was looking out of the window, I 
chanced to glance up into the rigging. As I 
was looking at the sailors furling the sails, I 
saw one — a Japanese, I think, he must have 
been — -when a sudden wind struck the ship, 
loosen his grasp and fall into the water. In a 
moment the waves had washed him far from 
help." 

"Oh, horrible! and we may have to go 
through that !" exclaimed Mrs. Anson. 

"My dear, let us remember that we are in 

H 



114 THE ANSOIS^S IN ASIATIC TEMPLES. 

our Father's care, and whether we live or die, he 
will not forsake us. Both we and our childi'en, 
thank God, are trusting in the Saviour, and 
death is not a dread enemy to us, since Jesus 
has taken away his power. But we do not ex- 
pect to die yet. The captain said, as another 
passenger told me, that while the situation was 
serious, and we were in some danger, yet we 
shall probably come through all right.'' 

Just then some heavy tramping was heard in 
the dining-room adjoining, and Mr. Anson, go- 
ing out, met the first officer, who said, in answer 
to his question: 

"Yes, we are all right now. Pretty soon we 
shall begin to go ahead again. It was a severe 
blow, and very trying on this old tub of a vessel ; 
but we only caught the tail end of the typhoon." 

Mr. Anson returned to the state-room. And, 
after tucking pillows under the edges of the mat- 
tresses of Bessie and Mrs. Anson, to prevent 
their being rolled out, climbed to his own berth, 
and, with a trunk strap, made himself secure. 



TO THE LAND OF TEAS AKD QUEUES. 115 

" Well, ^vell/' thought he, " Bertie must sleep 
soundly ; I did not hear a word from him as I 
passed his state-room door/' 

Soon the thug-thug of the engine was heard, 
and, while the steamer continued to pitch up and 
down considerably, it was easy to be seen that 
the motion was getting less and less violent. 

In the morning, Bertie was early upon deck. 
The sun shone clearly, the air seemed wondrous 
pure, the waves ran low, and there was scarce a 
sign of a storm. When his father joined him, 
he said: 

^' HoAv is it that the storm didn't awaken you, 
Bertie?'' 

"Storm, why, was there a storm? I didn't 
know it." 

"Yes, a very heavy one." 

' I dreamed that I was being tossed up in a 
blanket, just as we used to be at Mrs. Penrose's 
schcol, when we cut up our capers. I suppose 
the storm made me dream that way." 

"So you slept soundly, eh, my boy," said the 



116 THE ANSONS IN ASIATIC TEMPLES. 

captain, who had come up behind Bertie; " well, 
you would make a good sailor." 

This day and the next passed quietly away, 
until towards evening, when the vessel steamed 
into the mouth of the Yang-tse-kiang, and an 
hour or so after, into the Woosung Eiver. 
About two hours later they were anchored be- 
fore Shanghai, and soon the Ansons had set foot 
upon the soil of the great Chinese Empire. 

Mr. Anson secured rooms in an American 
Hotel in Shanghai, for he' had determined, 
while showing every appreciation of the hos- 
pitality of the missionaries, not to thrust him- 
self and his family upon them. Early the next 
morning, some of the missionaries, who had seen 
the notice of the arrival of the Hiroshima Maru 
and its list of passengers in the daily paper, 
called upon Mr. Anson and gave him and his 
family a cordial welcome to China. Mr. Anson 
had only vaguely outlined his visit to China, 
rightly judging that the missionaries could aid 
him with their advice. After quite a consulta- 



TO THE LAND OF TEAS AND QUEUES. 117 

tion with several well-traveled missioDaries, he 
determined first to visit Pekin, the capital, and 
later on to visit Hong-Kong and Canton; and 
if the opposition to foreigners had so far sub- 
sided as to permit of it, to go up the Canton 
Kiver some distance. 



CHAPTER yill. 

FROM SHANGHAI TO PEKIN. 

TN Shanghai the foreign population live along 
the river front, and the Chinese back from 
the river. The foreign section has separate di- 
visions for the American, English, and French 
residents. The foreigners' residences are sepa- 
rated by neat gardens; but the Chinese crowd as 
closely together as possible. There is no country 
in the world where the people are so thickly 
packed together as in China, and' instead of 
working them harm, they seem to thrive upon 
it. 

Just as soon as possible, the Ansons paid a 
visit to the Chinese city of Shanghai. Bessie, 
in a note to one of her school friends, wrote of 
their first visit : 

"I think this is the dirtiest city we have ever 

been in. The streets are narrow and dark, and 

118 



FEOM SHANGHAI TO PEKIN. 119 

not like those in Japan. The stores are only- 
big boxes, and the people who sell to you are 
not at all polite. Whenever we stopped at a 
shop the Chinese gathered around us; and they 
pushed and shoved us, and laughed at us, and 
called us ^Fan Kwai.' Some one told us after- 
ward that this means Foreign Devil. They 
were ever so much ruder than the Japanese. 
I am almost sorry that we came here; but papa 
says that we shall enjoy ourselves better the 
longer we stay, and the more accustomed we 
become to the ways of the people. One of the 
missionaries says that many of the Chinese call 
foreigners ^devils' more from habit than because 
they really mean it. Often, as we went along , 
the streets, I had to hold my handkerchief to 
my nose, because the smell was so bad. We 
took some tea once in awhile, and that did not 
taste badly. Often we were pushed up against 
the walls of the houses as some ^ coolies,' as they 
call the men who carry burdens, came along 
carrying some big bundles hung from the ends of 



120 THE ANSOXS Ili ASIATIC TEMPLES. 

a pole that rested on their shoulders. The peo' 
pie seem to carry almost everything in this way. 
I saw a ' sedan-chair ' carried on the shoulders 
of four men ; papa is going to let me ride in one 
some day. To-morrow we are going to Pekin." 

Bertie wrote a characteristic letter concerning 
what he saw, to one of his chums: 

"This is a funny country, I tell you. Every- 
thing is upside down and wrong end foremost. 
The signs read from the top to the bottom, aud 
not from left to right, as at home. The letters 
are words and the words letters, and they look 
just like the marks on the tea-chests, and on 
the packages of fire-crackers. The men wear 
slippers with soles an inch thick, and they 
hlackefii their soles with cJicdk. The men wear 
petticoats and the women trousers. When peo- 
ple, meet, they shake their own hands and not 
one another's. The sign of respect- is not to *^ 
take off your hat, but to pull off your shoes. 
And there are ever so many queer ways of work- 
ing. The 'boy' — that is what foreigners always 



FROM SHANGHAI TO PEKIN. 121 

call men servants^— says in his ^ pigeon Euglish ' 
that it is we who are upside down, and not the 
Chinese. It is fanny, Bob, to hear a Chinaman 
talk 'pigeon English;' jyigeoii is their way of 
saying business. They think that this sort of 
talk is a sign of great learning on their part. 
I will copy you a few verses from a 'Chinese 
pigeon English ' version of the poem we used to 
declaim at school, Excelsior: 

"top-side galah !" 

That nightee teem he come chop-chop, 
One young man walkee — no can stop ; 
Maskee snow, maskee ice ; 
He cally flag wit 'h chop so nice — 
" Top-side Galah ! " 

He muchee solly ; one piecee eye 
Lookee shalp — so fashion — ^my ; 
He talkee lalge, he talkee stlong, 
Too muchee culio ; allee same gong — 
"Top-side Galah!" 

Insidee house he can see light, 
^ And eviy loom got file all light ; 
He lookee, plenty ice move high, 
Insidee mouth he plenty cly — 

"Top-side Galah!" 



122 THE ANSONS IN ASIATIC TEMPLES- 

Olo man talkee. " No can walk," 
Bimeby lain come, velly dalk ; 
' ' Have got watel, velly wide ! ' ' 
Maskee, my must go top-side — 

" Top-side aalah!" 

And so it goes on. Isn't it queer, that a 
Chinaman can't pronounce r, but says I instead, 
as velly for very ; while a Japanese cannot pro- 
nounce I, but says r instead, as ramp for lamp. 
Papa brought another piece of ^ pigeon English' 
about the Bamboo ; it begins : 

One piecee thing that my have got, 
Maskee that thing my no can do, 
You talkee you no sabee what ? 

Bamboo. 

And so it goes on. It all sounds funny. To- 
morrow we are going to start for Pekin. We 
go by steamer up the coast, until we reach Tien 
tsin, near the mouth of the Peiho River. Good- 
bye, Bob. Remember me to all the boys." 

At the mouth of the Peiho, the steamer passed 
the Taku forts, celebrated in the attack of the 
British men-of-war, in 1859. All the way up 
from Taku to Tien -tsin the river was crowded 



FROM SHANGHAI TO PEKIX. 123 

with juuks and sampans, or small boats. The 
Grand Canal begins at Tieu-tsin. Our travelers 
were impatient to be in Pekin, about two days' 
journey — about ninety miles — from Tien-tsin. 
So, bright and early the day after landing, Bertie 
and his father took ponies, and Bessie and Mrs. 
Anson rode in a kind of sedan-chair carried by 
mules. On another pony their baggage and pro- 
visions were strapped. It took nearly a day 
after their arrival in Pekin before the aches and 
pains, brought on by the two days' ride, had left 
them. There is a kind of carriage used in Pekin 
that is drawn by a horse. In summer, the Chi- 
nese put up a cover over both horse and cart. 

Pekin is one of the largest cities in the world ; 
for it has a population of about two millions. 
There are really two cities in one: the Tartar 
city and the Chinese city, separated from each 
other by a high wall. The whole city is sur- 
rounded by high walls, and has thirteen gates. 
The Chinese city has three separate enclosures, 
one within the other; in the outer circle are 



124 THE ANSOXS IX ASIATIC TEMPLES. 

ordinary shops and dwellings; within the second 
are the government offices and some private resi- 



TEMPLE OF HEAVEN, PEKJN. 



dences ; while within the heart of the city is the 
imperial palace and also the imperial temples. 
Each one of these circles has a high wall about 



FROM SHANGHAI TO PEKIN. 125 

it. The temples within the inner circle are the 
most splendid in all China; they are devoted to 
the worship of the sun, the moon, and the earth; 
to farming, business, and the like. The most 
splendid of all is the Temple of Heaven, as for- 
eigners call it. After some difficulty and delay, 
Mr. Anson managed to get a special permission, 
admitting the family to see the temples and a 
part of the palace. Mr. Anson asked one of the 
missionaries in Pekin to write out for him a 
sketch of the Temple of Heaven and the wor- 
ship there: 

"The imperial worship of Shang-te — the Su- 
preme Being — on the round hillock in the south- 
em part of the enclosure is attended with all the 
solemnity of which such an occasion is capable. 
The altar is a beautiful marble structure, as- 
cended by twenty-seven steps ; a balustrade sur- 
rounds each terrace. On the upper of these 
three terraces are five tables, or altars, on which 
the offerings to Shang-te are laid. On another 
terrace stands the conspicuous Temple of Agri- 



126 THE ANSOKS IN ASIATIC TE^rPLES. 

culture. On the day before the annual sacrifices 
at the Winter Solstice, the Emperor goes to the 
Hall of Fasting. Here he spends the night in 
watching and meditation, after first inspecting 
the offerings. There are no images here, nothing 
but tablets. The southern altar, the most im- 
portant of all Chinese religious buildings, is on 
a triple circular terrace, two hundred and ten 
feet across at the base, and ninety feet across at 
the top. The terraces are between five and six 
feet high. The temple itself is a three-storied 
structure, just ninety-nine feet high. The roofs 
are covered with tiles of a sky-blue color. At 
the time of sacrificing, the tablets to Heaven and 
to the Emperor's ancestors are placed on an altar 
within the temple. The Emperor kneels upon 
the central stone of a platform of nine marble 
flao;s, so he seems to himself and his court — 
while in the very centre of the central Temple 
of the central (^Middle') kingdom, of the cen- 
tral planet — to be in the very centre of the uni- 
verse. By kneeling, he acknowledges that he is 



FROM SHANGHAI TO PEKIN. 127 

inferior to Heaven, and to Heaven alone. Sac- 
rifices are offered to the dead ancestors, but to 
Heaven (^Shang-te') is offered a piece of blue 
jade stone, about a foot long, as a symbol of 
sovereignty. A whole burnt offering is also sac- 
rificed to Heaven/' 

Confucius has some temples in the neighbor- 
hood of the Temple of Heaven. He was the 
religious-political reformer who lived about five 
hundred years before Christ, just a century later 
than Daniel. He was held in high repute for 
his wonderful wisdom, and his books are yet 
studied, as containing the very cream of wisdom. 
Nobody can have a place in ruling the country 
except he first successfully passes an examination 
in the writings of Confucius. Bertie heard from 
some of the missionaries some very curious sto- 
ries of Chinese school-boys. Here are one or 
two: 

About twelve hundred years ago there lived a 
boy named Lei Peh, who, while he was yet 
young, left school and started for home. On the 



128 THE ANSONS IX ASIATIC TEMPLES. 

road he saw an old woman engaged in grinding 
an iron pestle. Peh asked her what she was 
doing. She replied, ^'I want to make a needle.'' 
The reply touched him, and he turned back to 
school, and applied himself until he had mas- 
tered the classics of Confucius. Another lad, 
Sie Ma Wan by name, was accustomed to use a 
round block of wood for a pillow. When he be- 
came too sleepy, his pillow would roll, and then 
he would be awakened and would apply himself 
to his studies with vigor. Another boy, named 
Kwang Hung, was so poor that he could not afford 
a light by which to study. He bored a hole 
through the partition, and so let in a few rays ot 
light from his neighbor's candle. With such 
stories as these the Chinese encourage the boys to 
study the sacred books of Confucius. 

While rambling around, apart from the rest of 
the folks, Bertie came upon some strange objects 
fixed in posts, or lying upon small tables. Every 
once in awhile a priest would set them a whirl- 
ing and then go on his way; and another passing 



FROM SHANGHAI TO PEKIN. 



129 



priest would do the same. One of these was in 
a little porch. It consisted of a wooden drum, 
covered with leather. Upon the leather, strange 

characters were 
written. Bertie 
saw that they 
were not Chinese 
characters. The 
leather was stain- 
ed and dirty, as if 
it had been much 
handled. Seeing 
him curiously 
examining it, 
one of the priests, 
a bright, jolly 
PRATING machho;. looking man, 

came and said, in broken English : 

"You Melican boy, you sabee dis? You no 
sabee ? Dis allee same makee pray." 

Here he put his hands together and looked up 
toward the sky. 




130 THE ANSONS IX ASIATIC TEMPLES. 

" Oh, I see/' said Bertie ; " you mean this is a 
praying machine/' 

"Yes, yes/' replied the priest. 

"What this?" asked Bertie, pointing to the 
writino; on the leather. 

"That number one good prayer/' and turning 
it as he spoke and pointing to the words, " Oin 
tnani padmi hum.'' "Dis no Chinee language; 
dis writing of — what you say ? — Ind — Ind " 

"India/' added Bertie; "you mean old lan- 
guage of India?" 

"Yes, old language, long time ago makee 
speakee, makee writee." 

"What is this?" asked Bertie, taking up one 
of the praying-wheels which was to be turned in 
the hand. 

"Dat allee same good prayer. Sposee man 
turn one time good, one hundred time better, 
one thousand times he number one good man, go 
to Joss [he meant to be with God] sure." 

Several weeks were spent in and about Pekin. 
Every day seemed to bring something new to 



FROM SHANGHAI TO PEKIN. 



131 



notice. The dusty, narrow streets were always 
crowded with people; and Pekin seemed, to our 
travelers, more noted for its foul odors tlian even 
Cologne with all the stenches of which Coleridge 
speaks. Pekin 
is an ideal Chi- 
nese city. For- 
eign influence ^ 
has but little af- 
fected it; Chi- 
nese manners 
and customs are 
most easily stud- 
ied here. The 
immense crowds 
of people, and vmmm s?^^^.^^^ 

of all classes, Chinese praying-wheel. 

constantly thronging its highways and byways, 
are a far more interesting study than any sort 
of buildings or works of art. 

The street scenes of such a city are most 
worthy of notice. Trades are rarely ])ursued 




132 THE ANSONS IN ASIATIC TEMPLES. 

in-doors; even if they are, the fronts of the 
shops are all open, so that the interior is ex- 
posed to view. Generally the mechanic plies 
his business in the streets, and goes about from 
place to place seeking his customers. Money- 
changers and musicians, pipe-sellers, and old 
clothes' dealers, basket-makers, lantern-sellers, 
and almost every other calling, jostle one 
another in the crowded and narrow and noisy 
streets. The cities are so many bee-hives; 
the buzzing keeps up from early morn until 
late at night, day after day, almost the year 
round. The Chinese mechanic knows no day 
of rest. An occasional feast-day, or a national 
holiday, or an hour snatched now and then 
to hasten to the temples, is all of the rest he 
takes. It is a tread-mill existence, with pre- 
cious little enjoyment to ease its wearisome 
plodding. Religion, such as they have, offers 
to the Chinese no relief here, and little promise 
of any hereafter. There is no hope for happi- 
ness, or a respite from exacting toil, for the 




(134) 



PAGODA OF TUNG-CHO. 



FROM SHANGHAI TO PEKIN. 135 

Chinese workingman. The little children even 
seem like old folks ; the merry, joyous light of 
youth dies down very early in life. Wherever 
the religion of Jesus Christ gets a grasp on the 
heart, at once there comes a lifting up, notwith- 
standing that becoming a Christian is sufficient 
to subject the convert to persecution. This was 
most apparent to our friends when they met on 
the Lord's Day in one or another of the mission 
churches of Pekin. Of course, they could not 
understand a word that was spoken, but it was 
easy to see the diiference between the spirit of 
the worship here and that in the temples. 

On one Monday morning, with some mis- 
sionary friends, the Ansons paid a visit to 
the Pagoda of Tung-cho, an hour or two from 
Pekin. A pagoda is, properly, a relic-house — a 
high structure, generally solid, built over the 
relics of some dead Buddhist saints. In China, 
the many-storied towers erected in temple 
grounds are generally called pagodas. The 
one at Tung-cho has thirteen stories, and is 



136 THE ANSONS IN ASIATIC TEMPLES. 

one hundred and fifty feet high, and one hun- 
dred and twenty feet around the base. It can 
be seen miles away from the city. Lighted 
lanterns are often hung at the corners of each 
story's roof, and little bells swing from the 
angles. 

It was of the Porcelain Pagoda of Nankin — 
whose sides and roofs were covered with yellow, 
green, red, and white glazed porcelain tiles — ^that 
Longfellow wrote in his " Keramos.^' Standing 
beneath the pagoda at Tung-cho, one of the 
missionaries recited the lines : 

And yonder by Nankin, behold ! 

The Tower of Porcelain, strange and old, 

Uplifting to the astonished skies 

Its nine-fold painted balconies, 
With balustrades of twining leaves, 
And roofs of tile, beneath whose eaves 

Hang porcelain bells that all the time 
Ring with a soft, melodious chime ; 
While the whole fabric is ablaze 

With varied tints, all fused in one 
Great mass of color, like a maze 

Of flowers illumined by the sun. 

Unfortunately, this beautiful pagoda was de- 
stroyed by the Tai Ping rebels in 1860. 



CHAPTER IX. 

TEE STORY OF ''CniNEHE GORDON." 

TT7HILE the Ansons were yet in Pekin, the 
mail brought up from Shanghai papers 
containing the latest news from Egypt, with 
especial reference to the dangerous position of 
General Gordon in Khartoum. Every now and 
then the party had been coming upon ruined 
buildings and the like, which had been destroyed 
by the Tai Ping rebels. This led Bertie fre- 
quently to ask his papa about the Tai Pings. 
But Mr. Anson knew scarcely more than his 
son. Fortunately, they were invited one even- 
ing to take dinner with a veteran missionary 
and his family. The occasion was too good a 
one to be lost; and at the first opportunity Mr. 
Anson began to lead his host to speak of his 
past life. A reference to Gordon and the Tai 

Pings brought out from the old missionary an 

137 



138 THE AJfSOXS IN ASIATIC TEMPLES. 

exceedingly interesting account of Gordon's life 
in China, especially as to the missionary's own 
personal acquaintance and interviews w4th Gor- 
don. 

"It was in September of 1860/' said Dr. 
Hoddard, "that I first saw- Gordon. I hap- 
pened to be in Tien-tsin then. It w^as at the 
time when the French and English Avere ad- 
vancing upon Pekin. Gordon was then a 
captain under Sir Hope Grant. Pekin w^as 
. taken on October 12. A picture of the civiliza- 
tion of China is given in Gordon's letter, written 
after the destruction of Pekin's famous palaces: 

" ^ We (i. e., our armies) went out, and after 
pillaging it, burned the w^hole place, destroying, 
. in a vandal like manner, most valuable property, 
which could not be replaced for four millions 
(of pounds, equal to twenty millions of dollars). 
You can scarcely imagine the beauty and mag- 
nificence of the places we burned. The palaces 
were so large, and w^e w^ere so pressed for time, 
that we could not plunder them carefully. 



THE STORY OF "CHINESE GORDON." 139 

Quantities of gold ornaments were burned, 
considered as brass. Everybody was wild for 
plunder. You would scarcely conceive the mag- 
nificence of this residence (the Summer Palace), 
or the tremendous devastation the French have 
committed. The throne and room were lined 
with ebony, carved in a marvelous way. There 
w^ere huge mirrors of all shapes and kinds, 
clocks, watches, musical boxes, magnificent 
china of every description, heaps and heaps 
of silks of all colors, embroidery, and as much 
splendor and civilization as you would see at 
Windsor; carved ivory screens, coral screens, 
large amounts of treasure, etc. The French 
have smashed everything in a wanton way.'" 

"What was the cause of this war?" asked 
Mr. Anson. 

"It is a long story," said Dr. Hoddai'd; 
"but I will tell it to you in brief. In October, 
1856, a Chinese vessel, the ^Arrow,' carrj^ing 
the British flag, was boarded by Chinese officers. 
This was the cause of British hostilities against 



140 THE ANSONS IN ASIATIC TEMPLES. 

tlie Chinese. As for the French, a Roman 
Catholic missionary, M. Chapdelaine, had been 
murdered by Chinese in the province of K^vang- 
si. The United States had nothing to do with 




WORSHIP OF ANCESTOKS. 



these troubles, and so refused to enter into an 
alliance ag-ainst China. But to return to Gordon. 
I am glad you asked about him, for he is a rare 
Christian soldier and an earnest friend of mis- 
sions. He was brought into such relations to 
the Chinese Government that, by his personal 



THE STOIiY OF "CHINESE GORDON." 141 

influence, he greatly aided in advancing the 
welfare of Chinese Christians; but, above all, he 
played so important a part in the putting down 
of the Tai Ping rebellion, that he became famous 
as a Christian soldier." 

"What was the Tai Ping rebellion?" asked 
Bertie. "We heard of that when we were 
talking of pagodas, beneath the thirteen-storied 
pagoda of Tung-cho, and often friends have 
shown us traces of the work of the Tai Pings,' 
as they have said." 

" Why do they call General Gordon ^ Chinese 
Gordon?'" interrupted Bessie. 

" I will answer both questions at once. They 
call Gordon, ^Chinese Gordon,' because of his 
part in putting down the Tai Ping rebellion, as 
the leader of the ' Ever- victorious Army,' a body 
of Chinese soldiers. The Tai Ping rebellion 
really had a very singular history. Once a 
peasant named Hung Siu-tseuen visited Canton, 
and heard a foreign Protestant missionary preach- 
ing in the streets. The tract distributor who 



142 THE AKSONS IN ASIATIC TEMPLES. 

was with the missionaiy gave the peasant a book 
of sermons hy a Chinese convert, entitled ^Good 
Words for Exhorting the Age.' When he 
reached home. Hung looked through the volume 
and then laid it in his bookcase, to be forgotten 
for some few years. This was about 1833. 
Hung tried to get into a government office, but 
failed. After a few years the Opium War broke 
out, and Hung saw the wonderful fire-ships of 
the westerners. He became curious to learn 
about the religious views of these powerful west- 
ern nations, and once more took down the little 
book. He had had some strano;e visions about 
six years before, and he thought he found the 
key to them in the little book ; he had dreamed 
that a voice from heaven had summoned him to 
destroy all idols and to uproot idolatry. He and 
one of his first converts, named Fung Yun-san, 
became zealous preachers. An American Baptist 
missionary, Mr. I. J. Roberts, treated the con- 
verts with suspicion. But Hung went back and 
Umght his converts how to baptiz3. The con- 



THE STORY OF *' CHINESE GORDON." 143 




verts multiplied rap- 
idly. A great num- 
ber of idols were de- 
stroyed. Many of 
the converts had been 
made among some 
warlike people of the 
province of Kwang- 
tung, who had for- 
merly been pirates. 
Hung declared him- 
self to be the * Heav- 
enly Prince/ and his 
mission to be the 
establishment of 
^Universal Peace/ — 
which is the meaning 
of Tai 
Ping. 
The 
^Hea- 



PORCELAIN PAGODA. 



venly 



144 THE AXSONS IN ASIATIC TEMPLES. 

Army' rapidly increased in strength (just as 
the ^Salvation Army' has done in England 
and America), and when they finally gathered 
together to enter Nankin, where was the famous 
Porcelain Pagoda, Hung had an army of over 
ninety thousand followers. The Imperial Chi- 
nese troops sent to put down the rebellion 
were beaten in every battle. Before going 
into the fight, the followers of the Chinese 
Prophet-King knelt in the open field in prayer. 
They conquered city after city, and it seemed as if 
they must sweep the empire. They declared their 
belief in our Christian Bible, of which they had 
an imperfect translation in their own language. 
They observed the Lord's Day, and held religious 
services. They welcomed Europeans as ' brethren 
from across the sea,' and fellow-worshipers of 
* Yesu.' We foreign missionaries tried to reach 
the Tai Ping leaders, and to teach them the 
truths of the Christian religion, but our efforts 
all failed." 

^' There was one thing I have heard of," said 



THE STORY OF "CHINESE GORDON." 145 

Mr. Anson, "of which you have not spoken. 
The Tai Pings bitterly opposed the use of opium, 
did they not?'' 

" Yes, indeed,'' replied Dr. Hoddard. " They 
would not accept of the aid of a body of rebels, 
when attacking Nankin, because they would 
neither give up the use of opium, nor renounce 
idolatry. Possibly this may have had much to 
do with the fact that England loaned the aid of 
her soldieiy to repress the rebellion, that she 
feared to lose China as a market for the opium 
that she raises in India. It was Gordon's busi- 
ness to obey orders, I suppose, and this may have 
been the reason for his taking the part he did in 
putting down the Tai Pings ; but I think it more 
likely that the earnest Christian soldier saw that, 
while a few of the leaders were sincere in their 
intentions and in their devotion to Christ, the 
great mass were unchanged in heart, and were 
only after plunder and power. Probably it was 
to check their mad destruction of life and prop- 
erty, and to rescue the fair name of Christianity 



146 THE ANSONS IN ASIATIC TEMPLES. 

from the stains being put upon it, that Gordon 
consented to take command of the Chinese sol- 
diery. In a letter that he wrote to his family 
March 24, 1863, he says: 'I have taken the 
step on consideration. I think that any one 
who contributes to putting down this rebellion 
fulfills a humane task, and I also think tends a 
great deal to open China to civilization.' .... 
' I can say that if I had not accepted the com- 
mand, I believe the force would have been 
broken up and the rebellion gone on in its 
misery for years. I trust this will not be 
the case. I think I am doing a good ser- 
vice.' He was now about thirty yeai^ of age. 
Armed only with a cane, Gordon led his soldiers 
into battle. He showed rare courage both in 
repressing mutiny among his own soldiers and 
iu attacking the Tai Pings.'' 

" Do you remember, papa," said Bertie, 
*^ when we were in Philadelphia, that we went 
to the room of the Baptist Historical Society, 
and that we saw a chest marked with the name 



THE STORY OF "CHINESE GORDON." 147 

of the missionary to whom Himg went for 
counsel ? Mr. Lincohi told us that he thought 
that much information about the beginning of 
the Tai Ping rebellion might be found in the 
papers in that trunk." 

" I wish that I could see those papers/' said 
Dr. Hoddard. 

" If my memory serves me, Mr. Lincoln 
said that the chest was left with the Historical 
Society on condition that it should not be opened 
for a certain number of years." 

" To return to Gordon. When the war was 
over, the Chinese Governor Li offered Gordon a 
large sum of money above his regular pay. He 
declined it. He said in truth, *I leave China as 
poor as when I entered it.' The British Min- 
ister wrote : ' Lieutenant Colonel Gordon well 
deserves Her Majesty's favor; for, independently 
of the skill and courage he has shoAvn, his dis- 
interestedness has elevated our national character 
in the eyes of tlie Chinese.' I have heard from 
many of the Chinese who served under Gor- 



148 THE ANSONS IN ASIATIC TEMPLES. 

don in one way or another, that he was very 
pious." 

''I remember seeing a picture of General 
Gordon standing with his finger on a map, 
and with some ragged boys about him," said 
Bertie. " When was it that he taught them ? " 

" Right after he left China," said Mr. Anson ; 
"he spent all of his spare time and money in 
trying to help the ragged boys of London." 

"Where did he go next? and where is he 
now ? " asked Bertie, thoroughly interested. 

"I supposed," Dr. Hoddard said, "that you 
had heard of his going to Upper Egypt ; but 
then, of course, we who know a man, always 
follow his movements with interest ; and, more- 
over, you were not born when Gordon was in 
China." 

"Just now," said Mr. Anson, "he is the 
central figure in the events occurring in 'Egypt, 
and all England is talking of him." 

"Yes, he went to Egypt," continued Dr. 
Hocldard; "and, later, to India and to South 



THE STORY OF "CHINESE GOEDON." 149 

Africa, and then, in 1880 he went to China 
again. Eussia was threatening China with war, 
and the Chinese were disposed to fight the Kus- 
sians. Gordon was sent for as adviser. I was 
standing hy when Governor Li saw Gordon, 
and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. 
Gordon counseled peace, and the Chinese Gov- 
ernment accepted his advice.'^ 

''I suppose you know. Dr. Hoddard, that 
after his return to England, Gordon was plan- 
ning to visit the Congo region, in West Africa. 
You will remember that the International Asso- 
ciation, under Stanley, has been at work there, 
until, in 1884, when Stanley returned to Europe. 
There are some American Baptist mission sta- 
tions on the Congo, and it could have been 
wished that Gordon had gone to that region. 
But he wa.s ordered to South Africa. Later, 
he visited Palestine." 

"Yes, and yet he was too active a man to 
go about ^globe-trotting,^ " added Dr. Hoddard. 
"There was a man, a peasant, who, in the 



150 THE ANS0:N^S in ASIATIC TEMPLES. 

Soudan, began a work wonderfully like the 
work of tlie Tai Ping leader in China. Egypt 
was in a precarious state, and the English had 
too much money invested in Egy})t to refuse all 
needed aid of military forces. So it came about 
that Gordon was sent out again. In February 
of 1884, Gordon was once more in Egypt. 
What he has done since has hardly become a 
matter of history yet, for I know only what 
I have read in the uncertain newspaper reports. 
But Gordon seems to be succeeding in repressing 
the False Prophet, El Mahdi, of the Soudan. 
' He never goes into battle without a prayer for 
the poor blacks against whom he fights. The 
slaves he captures he turns into loyal saldiers, 
giving them their freedom. His ideal is to see 
every slave in the Soudan set free. He has 
given to the missionaries of the Church of 
England every assistance in his power, in go- 
ing to and from their mission-fields in Central 
Africa; and has contributed considerable sums 
of money to their mission work. As a Chris- 



THE STOPwY OF "CHINESE GORDON." 151 

tian and a missionary, I tliank God for rais- 
ing up Charles George Gordon. Plis wonder- 
ful humility and marked disinterestedness, and 
remarkable fidelity and dauntless courage, have 
added lustre to his character as a Christian. 
We, in China, and they, of Egypt, can point 
with pride to Gordon as a specimen of the 
work of Christ's grace in a human soul." 

The evening was well spent when the Anson 
family, led by Dr. Hoddard's servant, found 
their way back to their hotel. After several 
days of sight-seeing, they made preparations 
for their departure. 



CHAPTER X. 

HOUSEKEEPING IN CANTON. 

/^UE. friends returned by junk to Tien-tsin, 
down the river, and thence to Shanghai by 
ocean steamer. At Shanghai they took a French 
steamer for Hong-Kong. Soon they were among 
the mountainous islands off the coast; and then, 
by a picturesque, narrow channel, entered the 
outer harbor, with the red, rocky hills of the 
mainland, and the high hills of Hong-Kong on 
the other. Then, with a sudden turn, the inner 
harbor was entered, and Hong-Kong lay before 
them. 

" The city looked magnificent, suggesting Gib- 
raltar; but far, far finer, its peak, eighteen 
hundred feet in height — a giant among the 
lesser peaks — rising abruptly from the sea above 
the great granite city which clusters upon its 
lower declivities, looking out from dense greenery 

152 



HOUSEKEEPING IN CANTON. 153 

and tropical gardens, and the deep shade of 
palms and bananas, the lines of many of its 
streets traced in foliage, all contrasting with the 
scorched, red soil and barren crags." 

Gre^t warehouses, cathedrals, colleges, and 
factories came rapidly into view. Ov^er all 
waved the English flag; for the island belongs 
to Great Britain. Since Hong-Kong was so 
plainly a foreign city, and in scarcely any sense 
a Chinese city, the Ansons determined to move 
on to Canton. So, after a single night in the 
hotel at Hong-Kong, they took their places in 
a great deck-above-deck American river-steam- 
boat, with three or four other European pas- 
sengers, and some twelve hundred Chinese 
passengers. Canton lies about ninety miles up 
the Canton River from Hong-Kong, and the 
trip is through a level country, mainly covered 
with rice fields. To get to the wharf at Canton, 
it took nearly an hour's careful threading for the 
steamer to make its way among the boats of all 
sorts, house- boats, junks, and sampans ^ which 



154 THE a:nsons in Asiatic temples. 

filled the river. The boats of Canton are so 
numerous, that it seemed to Bertie as if fully 
half the people must live upon the water. The 
city lies on a level plain, and seems to be full 
of houses, all packed as closely together as sar- 
dines in a box. When the steamer reached the 
wharf, and while the Ansons were watching the 
crowds of Chinese as they went ashore, Mr. 
Anson felt some one touch him on the shoulder, 
and a cheery voice called out: 

"Why, Mr. Anson, how do you do? How 
do you come to be on this side of the world?" 

"My dear Dr. Balkom, how do you do? I 
did not expect to see you so soon. I thought 
that just as soon as we were settled I should 
hunt you up." 

"But I got the start of you, you see. I saw 
your arrival mentioned in the Hong-Kong 
paper that came up during the night, and, 
while I was not positive, I felt almost sure that 
it was Anson, my old schoolmate, who had just 
come in on the French steamer." 



HOUSEKEEPING IN CANTON. 155 

Mr. Anson then presented Dr. Balkom to his 
family, and they prepared to go ashore. 

"Just wait a moment, and I will get chairs 
for you. Mrs. Balkom will be expecting you 
and your family, and I will take you home 
right away." 

"Why, doctor," interrupted Mr. Anson, "we 
are not expecting to quarter ourselves upon you." 

" We will settle that by-and-by ; but we will 
get home first, and do our talking there." 

In a few moments Dr. Balkom returned with 
five bamboo chairs suspended from poles, and a 
couple of men to carry each chair. He spoke 
a few words in Chinese, and soon the procession 
wended its way through the narrow streets 
down by the river until the missionary quarter 
was reached. The face of Mrs. Balkom, smil- 
ing so pleasant a welcome as she met the friends 
of her husband at the door, seemed to them the 
most beautiful they had seen since leaving home 
— the gray hair lying smoothly on either side of 
the forehead, the calm, serene countenance, the 



156 THE ANSONS IN ASIATIC TEMPLES. 

patient, yet loving eyes — and her whole bearing 
seemed so mother-like to them, that it was a bit 
of home just to meet her. After a little pleas- 
ant conversation, Mr. Anson said : 

"By the way. Dr. Balkom, what about my 
baggage? I have forgotten all about that.'^ 

'^ It will be here in a few moments. I left a 
trusty man to bring it home as soon as possible." 

"But we must not quarter ourselves upon 
you. Indeed we cannot so far trespass upon 
your kindness.'' 

"I assure you, to have my old classmate — 
yet he is not as old as I — is a privilege to both 
my wife and myself, and we cannot let } o i go. 
But let us be perfectly frank with each other. 
I suppose that you would like to stay in Canton 
several weeks at least, and yet you are afraid the 
care of your entertainment might be a burden to 
my wife." 

"Yes, yes, that is just it," said Mr. Anson; 
" and we should feel badly if we added to the 
burdens that rest upon your good lady. I 



HOUSEKEEPING IN CANTON. 157 

should greatly enjoy staying with you, but I 
know how busy all you missionaries are; and I 
know, too, the dej^th of the missionaries' purses, 
and my family is too large to thrust upon your 
hospitality.'' 

"Well, if you think best — and I can appre- 
ciate your feelings — we shall have to give up our 
pleasant plan. Yet, not entirely, for I have a 
second string to my bow. One of our mis- 
sionary ladies. Miss Sohn, who has just gone 
to America on a vacation, has a three-roomed 
bungalow right next to and adjoining our house. 
She left the key with us, and bade us make a 
free use of the house in her absence, if any 
guests should come. We can lend you bedding 
and crockery, and you will find everything else 
that is needed, in the house. I can hire for you 
a good cook, who understands some English; 
and Mrs. Anson can try her hand at house- 
keeping in China." 

"Oh, that will be splendid," cried both 
Bertie and Bessie. 



158 THE ARSONS IN ASIATIC TEMPLES. 

"Will this inconvenience you in the least?" 
asked Mr. Anson. 

"No, not at all; and we shall be glad to have 
such good neighbors." 

"It is kind in you to make the offer, and 
with Mrs. Anson's consent, we will accept it." 

"Mrs. Anson can leave her housekeeping," 
added Mrs. Balkom, "entirely in Ah Ching's 
hands. She need only tell him how much 
money to spend — and I can help her in fixing 
upon the sum needed — and he will attend to 
the rest. My husband and I, and one of our 
native preachers, Avill be able between us to 
guide you in your sight-seeing." 

The remainder of the morning Avas spent 
in unpacking trunks and in getting settled. 
Among the contents of the trunks were several 
very valuable volumes and some articles useful 
to a lady, which Mr. and Mrs. Anson had pur- 
chased in San Francisco for Dr. Balkom and his 
wife. These, Ah Ching took in next door, and 
said to Mrs. Anson : 



HOUSEKEEPING IN CANTON. 



159 



"Lady, much obliged. She hardly speakee, 
but muchee cry.'' 

After a hasty tiffin, or luncheon, Dr. Balkoni 




TEMPLE OF FIVE HUNDRED GODS. 



came to take the Ansons upon their first round 
of sight-seeing. First of all, they went to see 
the Temple of the Five Hundred Gods. These 



160 THE ANSONS IN ASIATIC TEMPLES. 

are the Arhans, or pupils of Gautama Buddha. 
The temple is like all other Chinese temples, 
but it differs from all in the images of the 
deified disciples of Buddha. These are life- 
size, sitting on their heels, in Oriental fashion, 
each exhibiting the wonderful act for which he 
has been made a god. The eyes of one are 
always turned towards heaven, and are supposed 
never to have winked. Another held his hand 
above his head until it became .immovable. 
Another has held his hand so steadily and 
softly that a bird has come and built its nest 
in it. Another became so holy that Buddha 
opened his disciple's breast and entered his 
heart. The idols are made of clay, and gilded 
over. Before each idol is a vessel of ashes 
for joss-sticks, and vases for flowers. The 
main altar, where prayers are offered to the 
whole five hundred gods, stands in the centre 
of the temple. 

Dr. Balkom proved a very serviceable guide ; 
for he had spent nearly twenty-five years in China, 



HOUSEKEEPING IN CANTON. 



161 



and was thoroughly well acquainted with the 
people, and their language and customs. Bertie, 
who was at times a regular box of questions, 




SALE OP PRAYERS. 



found that Dr. Balkom could answer almost 
every question he asked. In reply to some of 
his questions. Dr. Balkom said: 



162 THE ANSONS IN ASIATIC TEMPLES. 

"Canton — or, as the Chinese call it, Kwang- 
tung — has a population of about a million souls. 
Sixty thousand of these spend their lives, by day 
and night, upon the water. The city has a wall 
around it, about seven miles long ; there are six- 
teen gates in the wall. Within the city are 
about one hundred and twenty temples. Most 
of the buildings are low." 

" What are the high buildings that we saw as 
we came up the river?" asked Bertie. 

"Do you mean the pagodas?" 

"No; I have learned about those; but those 
great square buildings." 

"Oh," said Dr. Balkom, "they are pawn- 
brokers' storehouses. The Cantonese pawn al- 
most everything that they do not have in actual 
use, both to get money, and also to save the 
trouble of storage and the risk of thieves." 

Just here they passed a temple, with a hall in 
front that was full of people. 

"What are they buying?" asked Bessie. 

" We will stop and see. These are all priests. 



HOUSEKEEPING IN CANTON. 



163 



The two that you see at the desk by the ^yall 
are filling up blank prayers to suit the wishes 

^^"^1 of the buyers. 

They may be 

able to write, 

-Jn but the priests 




BUKHONG PRAYERS. 



persuade the people that they alone know how 
to write so that the gods will hear." 



164 THE ANSONS IN ASIATIC TEMPLES. 

"Then do they read off these prayers? or do 
they make spit-balls of them, as they do in 
Japan?'' asked Bertie. 

"I!^either," replied Dr. Balkom. "I will show 
you what they do with them ; come this way." 

He led the way through some small streets, 
until they came to a little temple standing in the 
midst of a clump of banana and palm trees. 
After waiting a moment, a bareheaded, bare- 
footed Chinaman came to the keeper sitting by 
the door, and getting a light from him, touched 
it to a piece of paper upon which some Chinese 
characters were written, and held it until it was 
all burned up. 

"That's the way the Chinese pray. They 
send up their prayers in smol?:e," said Dr. Bal- 
kom. " They send money, clothing, horses, etc., 
to their dead friends in the same way; that is, 
^they make pictures of the money, or clothing, or 
horses, and burn them up. Most of those whom 
we saw buying prayers will take them either to 
the temples, where tliey will burn them before 



HOUSEKEEPING IN CANTON. 165 

the idols, or they will take them home and burn 
them before the household altar. Here " — stoop- 
ing and pointing to an object just within the 
door of the house they were passing — "is a 
household altar. Do you see that block of wood 
all carved, and with characters written upon it ? 
That is an 'Ancestral Tablet.''' 

The tablet to which Dr. Balkom pointed was 
made of wood, and was about twelve inches high 
and three inches wide. It consisted of three 
pieces, a pedestal, an upright piece, and a block 
upon which certain Chinese characters were 
carved. 

"Often,'' said Dr. Balkom, "a place is cut in 
the back, in which pieces of paper containing 
the names of the ancestors are placed. Every 
day, incense and paper prayers are burned before 
this tablet." 

"Do they pray to their dead fathers?" asked 
Mr. Anson. 

"Yes, to them, not for them. They also go 
and pray at the graves of their ancestors. I 



16G THE ANSOXS IN ASIATIC TEMPLES. 




ANCESTRAL TABLET. 



have at home a prayer, 
given me bj one of my 
converts, which I will 
translate for you some 
time. The Chinese be- 
lieve, you should remem- 
ber, that every man has 
three souls: one of 
which at his death goes 
to heaven, one remains 
with the body in the 
grave, and one is brought 
home, and lives in the 
ancestral tablet. In v 
April of each year, a 
day is selected, when, 
especial worship is paid 
at the graves. Every 
man, woman, and child 
hastens away to 
the family tombs, 
taking oiferings 



HOUSEKEEPING IN CANTON. 167 

and candles to worship at the gi-ave. To neglect 
this ceremony is counted a slight to one's dead 
parents." 

This is the translation of the prayer offered 
at the grave which Dr. Balkom gave to Mr. 
Anson : 

** Tankwang, ISth Year, Sd Moon, 1st Bay. 

"I, Lin Kwang, the second son of the third 
generation, presume to come before the grave of 
my ancestor, Lin Kung. E-evolving years have 
brought again the season of spring. Cherishing 
sentiments of veneration, I look up and sweep 
your tomb. Prostrate, I pray that you will 
come and be present, and that you will grant 
to your posterity that they may be prosperous 
and illustrious. At this season of genial showers 
and gentle breezes, I desire to recompense the 
root of my existence, and exert myself sincerely. 
^Always grant your safe protection. Most rev- 
erently, I present the five-fold sacrifice of a pig, 
a fowl, a duck, a goose, and a fish; also, an 
offering of five plates of fruit, with libations 



168 THE ANSONS IN ASIATIC TEMPLES. 



of spirituous liquors, earnestly entreating that 
you will come and view them. With the most 
attentive respect, this announcement is presented 
on high." 

Dr. Balkom remarked, after reading and 
handing the prayer to Mr. Anson: 

" To a Chinaman there is no greater sin than 

to neglect the 
g worship of an 
^ ancestor ; n o 
^M - greater calam- 
ity can hap- 
pen than that 
he should die 
and be buried 
away from his 
native land. 

BRINGING HOME SOTIL. il-imOSt CVCry 

steamer that crosses the Pacific from America 
carries one or more preserved bodies of China- 
men, taking them home to be buried.'^ 

A few days later, when the Ansons, with the 




HOUSEKEEPIXG IN CANTON. 169 

native preacher, were sauntering in the suburbs, 
they met a man carrying a bamboo over his 
shoulder, from the end of which hung a ball 
with a coat below it. He was bringing home 
one of the souls of his dead father, which was 
to dwell in the Ancestral Tablet. 

The weel^ slipped away rapidly in the pleas- 
ant company of Dr. and Mrs. Balkom, and in 
ceaseless sight-seeing. The Ansons thought 
that, on the whole, the Chinese were not as 
lovable a race as the Japanese, but that they 
were fully as much in need of the gospel. Dur- 
ing the latter part of their stay, Mr. Anson 
noticed a thoughtfulness on Bertie's face, when- 
ever they began to talk about mission work in 
China. The noble character and self-denying 
zeal of Dr. Balkom so impressed the boy, that 
within his own heart there began to be started 
searching questions. It was pleasant enough to 
travel about as they were doing, but what if he 
were always to live in this noisy, filthy city of 
Canton? Why should he not become a mission- 



170 THE Als'SONS IN ASIATIC TEMPLES. 

ary? There was evidently need of many more 
like Dr. Balkom. The questions were not to 
be answered at once. When the time came 
for saying good-bye, as the steamer was to 
bear them down to Hong-Kong, Bertie could 
not help feeling that there might be truth in 
Dr. Bi'lkom's words : 

" I feel, for some reason or other, that we 
may see you again in Canton, my boy." 

In a day or two the Ansons were again upon 
the ocean, steaming around the corner of China, 
in the direction of the Land of the White Ele- 
pliant. 



CHAPTER XI. 

IN THE LAND OF THE WHITE ELEPHANT. 

TT had been Mr. Anson's purpose to visit 
Cochin China on his way to Siam, but the 
unsettled state of that country, on account of the 
French and Chinese wars, led him to propose 
going to Siam direct. So the family took a 
French steamer to Saigon, in Cochin China, and 
a sailing vessel from Saigon to Bangkok, Siam. 
This last was not so pleasant a way of traveling. 
After crossing the bar at the mouth of the 
Kiver Meinam, the Ansons took their places in 
a small tow-boat, and started up the river to 
Bangkok, thirty miles above the entrance. The 
banks of the river were lined with dense vege- 
tation; gigantic palms and other tropical trees 
were covered with trailing vines coiling around 
their huge trunks. Here and there a fisher- 
man's hut was built out over the river. Many 

171 



172 THE AKSONS IN ASIATIC TEMPLES. 

small boats were plying to and fro. The party 
landed in, what seemed to them, the midst of a 
forest of cocoanut and other trees; but they 
soon found that it was the foreign portion of 
Bangkok. The native city was yet three miles 
further up the river. Mr. Anson had been in- 
formed, while in China, of the only foreign 
hotel in the city; and, under the guidance of 
the man in charge of the little steam-launch, 
proceeded to the place. The hotel was on the 
bank of the river, a little way above the land- 
ing ; almost all of the houses front on the river, 
which is a sort of street for Bangkok. Very 
many canals run off from the river among the 
houses. 

Bangkok is the Siamese capital, and has about 
half a million inhabitants; among these, there 
are more than twenty thousand priests of the 
Buddhist religion. There are multitudes of 
Chinese in Siam, as there are in all parts of the 
East, and they have their own temples and 
priests. It happened one morning, while Bertie 



LAND OF THE WHITE ELEPHANT. 173 

was sitting on the veranda of the hotel, waiting 
for breakfast, that he saw a priest's begging-boat 
come down the river. After breakfast, he 
thought that it would be a good idea to write 
down what he had seen, as a part of one of his 
letters home. 

"It is a curious sight to see the begging 
priests. They all wear yellow gowns, and their 
heads are so clean shaven that they look as if 
they had been polished. Each boat contains one 
priest and a boy-paddler. Before the priest 
stands a covered basket. The boy rows up be- 
fore a house, then the priest, in absolute silence, 
takes oif the lid of the basket ; some one belong- 
ing to the house steps to the door, and takes 
from a kettle of rice a ladleful, and empties it 
into the priest's basket. The boy pulls away. 
Nobody speaks a word. The priests seem to be 
a lazy set of folks. They lie around smoking 
and chatting most of the day." 

A day or two after, several missionaries came 
to see Mr. Anson, among them the venerable 



174 THE ANSONS IN ASIATIC TEMPLES. 

Dr. Kean, who liad been working axaong the 
Chinese, either in Siam or China, nearly fifty 
years. His long white beard swept his breast, 
and he seemed a veritable patriarch; yet the 
tenderly affectionate way in which he kissed 
Bessie, as he bade them welcome to Siam, won 
the hearts of all the Ansons. After a little 
pleasant conversation, he turned to Mr. Anson 
and suggested a stroll in the garden. 

"I wanted to mention one little thing to you. 
I do not want to be officious, but as a Christian 
brother, I want to serve you, if I can. You can 
throw away my advice, or you can act upon it, 
as you like. My long experience in the East 
makes me see that which would escape the notice 
of another. If I am not mistaken, your good 
wife is beginning to be subject to that fever 
which is so great a trouble to foreigners in the 
East. She is but in the beginning of the attack. 
I do not think that you can check it while in 
these tropical countries. If I were you, I would 
say nothing to Mrs. Anson about the matter, 



LAND OF THE WHITE ELEPHANT. 175 

but I would just quietly arrange my plans so 
that you shall see all that is of importance in 
Siam, Burmah, and India, and then hasten to 
the Holy Land, and thence to Turkey and home. 
You are here just in the best season, for the 
winter months are endurable in the troj^ics, or 
else I would urge you to retrace your journey 
directly to America, or to go to Europe." 

" I am indeed grateful to you, Dr. Kean, for 
your thoughtful kindness. I assure you that I 
appreciate it. I have noticed a quietness, a de- 
pression of spirits, a loss of appetite and sleep, 
in Mrs. Anson, except when we were aboard 
ship. She then seems much better. I will re- 
consider my plans. This is, I suppose, one of 
the dangers to which we are subject in traveling. 
We shall try to see several temples in Bang- 
kok, and in a day or two start for Rangoon, 
Burmah." 

" The best temples for you to see, and they 
will give you an idea of all of the rest, are the 
Wat Chang Pagoda, and the Temple of the 



176 THE AKSONS IN ASIATIC TEMPLES. 

Emerald Idol. I will be your guide this 
afternoou to Wat Chang, if it will suit you.^' 

The same afternoon saw them in Dr. Kean's 
boat, ascending the river to the pagoda. 

Passing through a large building with a 
sloping roof, our friends, under Dr. Kean's 
guidance, stood beneath the famous Wat Chang 
Pagoda. From one of the priests, Mr. Anson 
bought several handsome photographs of the 
pagoda and its spire. As he wrote in his 
journal on returning to the hotel : 

^' This is the most splendid temple I have 
seen since leaving Japan. The pagoda is shaped 
somewhat like a bell. It rises to a height, so 
Dr. Kean tells me, of two hundred and fifty 
feet. Every inch of its surface glitters wdth 
curious ornaments and carvings; the forms of 
men and beasts are like nothing in heaven 
above, nor earth beneath, nor waters under the 
earth. The spire is made of brick, and plastered 
on the outside. In large niches in the sides, 
about two-thirds of the way to the top, are 




The Ansoijs. 



WAT CIIAJSTG PAGODA. 



Page 176. 



LAND OF THE WHITE ELEPHANT. 177 

images of Gautama Buddha, riding on M'hite 
elephants made of shining porcelain, each facing 
one point of the compass. A sharp spire 
rises from the top. All over this temple tower, 
from the base to the summit^ from every pro- 
jecting point hang a great number of small, 
sweet-toned bells, swinging and ringing in the 
slightest breeze, filling the air with liquid 
melody. Within the Wat Chang enclosure, 
besides the pagoda and temple, are smaller 
temples, priests' dwellings, idols, a preaching- 
hall, and small parks, with flower and fruit- 
gardens, ponds, caves, and stone statues of 
famous saints, presenting a scene of bewilder- 
ing richness.'^ 

^'What are you thinking of, my boy?" 
kindly asked Dr. Kean, touching Bertie on 
the shoulder. 

"I am trying to think of some verses that 
I recited at one of our school entertainments, 
about the bells. Those little bells swinging 
and ringing in the breeze, brought it to my 



178 THE ANSONS IN ASIATIC TEMPLES. 

miDd. But all I can remember distinctly is 
this one verse : 

How they tinkle, tinkle, tinkle, 

While the stars that oversprinkle 

All the heavens, seem to twinkle 

With a crystalline delight ; 

Keeping time, time, time, 

In a sort of Runic rhyme. 

To the tintinnabulation that so musically wells 

From the bells, bells, bells, bells. 

Bells, bells— 
From the jingling and the tinkling of the bells. 

" Yes, the bells above us do suggest that, and 
yet the poet's bells were bells that we never hear 
in this snowless land. They do jingle and 
tinkle melodiously. I often lie awake listen- 
ing to them in the stillness of night. But 
shall we drop in and make a visit to his 
majesty, the White Elephant, while we are in 
his neighborhood.'' 

"Yes," replied Mr. Anson, "we should like to 
see a genuine white elephant; we have heard so 
much about them in America lately." 

"You must not expect to see a snowy- white 



LAND OF THE WHITE ELEPHANT. 179 

elephant, but only a coffee-colored creature; I 
will warn you, to save you disappointment," 
added Dr. Kean. 

"Do the Siamese actually worship the White 
Elephant?" asked Bertie. 

"You will see for yourself. Here is his maj- 
esty." 

On a splendid Persian carpet, stood a large 
yellowish-brown elephant. His tusks had golden 
rings upon them, and around his neck hung a 
huge necklace. Around the carpet's edge, a 
dozen Siamese were kneeling in prayer. 

" Do they really believe that the elephant is a 
god?" questioned Bertie. 

" Yes," said Dr. Kean. " They believe that 
Gautama Buddha lives in white elephants, and 
so the beasts are made sacred. This fellow was 
caught in the woods. The king and his fol- 
lowers received him with a great procession, and 
escorted him to his palace of a stable. Men 
were appointed as his slaves, and he was suf- 
fered to want for nothing. The Siamese regard 



180 THE ANSONS IN ASIATIC TEMPLES. 

the white elephant as the symbol of royalty. 
They stamp his image on their coins and em- 
broider it on their flags. It is to them what 
the cross is to Christians, or the crescent to the 
Turks." 

" That is why they call Siam the ' Land of the 
White Elephant/ is it?" asked Bertie. 

" Yes ; that is the origin of the name. Japan 
is the 'Land of the Rising Sun/ China the 
'Middle Kingdom/ and so Siam is the 'Land 
of the White Elephant.' Now, I think you 
had better rest awhile, for to-morrow I want to 
take you to the Temple of the Emerald Idol. 
I must first go and get a Siamese friend to 
secure me the permission to take you in." 

All through the night Mrs. Anson seemed 
restless and uneasy, though being able to secure 
some sleep. The next morning she seemed dis- 
inclined to go with the rest of the party. Mr. 
Anson's persuasions could not rouse her from 
her dejection. She insisted that the rest should 
go, and leave her alone. So Mr. Anson waited 



LAND OF THE WHITE ELEPHANT. 181 

quite anxiously for Dr. Kean's coming, and his 
first greeting, as he met him in the walk to the 
hotel, was : 

"Well, doctor, I am in a quandaiy. My wife 
passed a bad night, and she wants us to do our 
sight-seeing to-day without her." 

"And leave her alone?" 

"Yes, and leave her by herself." 

"That will never do. It would do her more 
harm than good. But I will arrange it." 

Then calling a servant, Dr. Kean dispatched 
him with a note to Mrs. Kean. After delaying 
their departure on various pretexts, finally Mrs. 
Kean put in an appearance. Without ^ny delay 
she asked : 

"Are you all going away to-day?" 

"No; I am not going," said Mrs. Anson. 

"Is that so? Well, I am almost glad, be- 
cause I want you to myself to-day. We live 
away from the regular lines of travel, unlike our 
friends in India, or China, or Japan, and we 
rarely see travelers from our own lands. Dr. 



182 THE ANSONS IN ASIATIC TEMPLES. 

Kean tells me that you are going to stay here 
but a day or two longer, and I am hungry to 
have you all to myself.'^ And without giving 
Mrs. Anson an opportunity to say no, before 
she knew what she was doing, good, motherly 
Mrs. Kean had bundled her off to her boat, say- 
ing to the rest, " Don't be in a hurry to get back ; 
I will take good care of mamma." 

Soon Mrs. Anson was stretched out on a long 
bamboo chair, with Mrs. Kean at her side, knit- 
ting. In bright, cheerful conversation, an hour 
passed, and then one of Mrs. Kean's classes of 
Chinese women came to receive their usual daily 
instruction. 

" Just sit right on the veranda here ; we will 
have our lessons where the foreign lady can see 
us,'' she said to them, in Chinese. 

Soon the strange sounds began to go to and 
fro among them. For awhile, Mrs. Anson stud- 
ied their interested faces, but gradually the hum 
of the unintelligible sounds lulled her to sleep. 
After a refreshing nap, she awoke to find herself 



LAND OF THE WHITE ELEPHANT. 183 

resting comfortably, while one of the Chinese 
girls was fanning her. Mrs. Kean soon re- 
turned with the news that luncheon was ready. 
The afternoon sped away so cheerfully that it 
seemed to Mrs. Anson as if the day was an oasis 
in a great desert of dullness and despondency. 

Mr. Anson, the children, and Dr. Kean, were 
admitted without difficulty to the Emerald IdoFs 
Temple. It proved to be one of the most re- 
markable and beautiful buildings of its kind in 
all the East. The outside was adorned with 
lofty eight-sided pillars, with queer doors and 
windows, all carved with a great variety of em- 
blems, the lotus and palm occurring most fre- 
quently. This temple, like all Siamese temples, 
is built of brick, with roof after roof rising 
above it, aftd reaching out over great porches. 
The entire outside is plastered with a white ce- 
ment. The roof is covered with differently col- 
ored tiles. But the altar was the most wonderful 
part of the temple. 

During the afternoon, Mrs. Anson, in looking 



184 THE ANSONS IN ASIATIC TEMPLES. 

over Mrs. Kean's books, found a volume con- 
taining the reminiscences of an English govern- 
ess during her life in the Siamese Court. She 
happened to turn to the description of the Tem- 
ple of the Emerald Idol, and wrote out, with 
Mrs. Kean's permission, her account of the 
altar : 

"The altar is a wonder of dimensions and 
splendor — a pyramid one hundred feet high, 
terminating in a fine spire of gold, and sur- 
rounded on every side by idols, all curious and 
precious, from the bijou image in sapphire to the 
colossal statue in plate gold. A series of tro- 
phies these, gathered from the triumphs of 
Buddhism over the proudest forms of worship 
in the old pagan world. In the pillars that 
surround the temple, and the spires that taper 
far aloft, may be traced types and emblems bor- 
rowed from the Temple of the Sun at Baalbec, 
the proud fane of Diana at Ephesus, the shrines 
of the Delian Apollo; but the Bmliminical sym- 
bols and interpretations prevail. Strange that it 



LAND OF THE WHITE ELEPHANT. 185 

should be so with a sect that suffered by the 
slayings and the banishments of a ruthless per- 
secution at the hands of their Brahmin fathers, 
for the cause of restoring the culture of that 
simple and pure philosophy which flourished 
before Pantheism. 

" The floor is paved with diamond - shaped 
pieces of polished brass, which reflect the light 
of tall tapers that have burned on for more than 
a hundred years, so closely is the sacred fire 
watched. The floods of light and depths of 
shadow about the altar are extreme, and the 
effect overwhelming. 

"The Emerald Idol is about twelve inches 
high, and eight in width. Into the virgin gold 
of which its hair and collar are composed, must 
have been stirred, while the metal was yet molten, 
crystals, topazes, sapphires, rubies, onyxes, ame- 
thysts, and diamonds — the stones crude, or rudely 
cut, and blended in such proportions as might 
enhance to the utmost imaginable limit the 
beauty and the cost of the adored ef^gy. The 



186 THE ANSONS IN ASIATIC TEMPLES. 

combination is as harmonious as it is splendid. 
No wonder it is commonly believed that Buddha 
himself alighted on the spot, in the form of a 
great emerald, and by a flash of lightning con- 
jured the glittering edifice and altar, in an in- 
stant, from the earth, to be a house and a throne 
for him there ! '^ 

Within a few days the Ansons were once more 
upon the water, for the steamer was bearing 
them around the Malay Peninsula and up to- 
wards Burmah. Dr. and Mrs. Kean had accom- 
panied them almost to the mouth of the river, 
and it was with great reluctance that they bade 
them good-bye. Often in Bertie's mind came up 
the cheerful, contented faces of their friends, and 
it was one more link in the chain of golden in- 
fluences that was binding the boy's heart to the 
missionary work. 



CHAPTER XII. 

UNDER THE SHADOW OF SHWAT DAGON. 

rpHE voyage to Barmah was an uneventful 
one. The Rangoon River, at its mouth 
about two miles broad, and with its shores low 
and wooded, narrows to about one-third of a 
mile in width opposite the great city of Ran- 
goon. There are several hotels in Rangoon, 
and the Ansons had no difficulty in finding 
comfortable quarters. Most of the European 
houses are raised upon piles; they are built 
of teak boards, and have tile roofs. From 
the steamer's deck, the Ansons could see the 
English settlement, with several English-looking 
churches ; and beyond, the large pagodas. Far 
away, to the horizon, stretched the forest of 
green palms, bamboos, and banana trees. The 
most wonderful sight in all Rangoon is the 
Shway Dagon, or Golden Pagoda. Indeed, 

187 



188 THE AlN^SOlsS IN ASIATIC TEMPLES. 

this is the most monstrous pagoda, not only 
in Burmah, but in all the world. It is really 
a mile from the city, situated on a high hill. 
It so haj)pened that the King of native Burmah 
had recently presented some diamonds, to be 
added to the " umbrella " — the hHee — on the 
top of the pagoda; and the sloping sides were 
yet covered with the bamboo scaffolding used 
in re-erecting the hHee, Consequently, no one 
of the Ansons had noticed the Shway Dagon 
until the day after their landing. Bertie, all 
impatient to see what was to be seen, had risen 
early, and, while glancing around, happened to 
see the gigantic pagoda casting its great shadow 
as the sun struck its sides. He ran in to his 
papa and begged him to come out and see the 
pagoda. 

"Wait until I get my hat, and we will walk 
out to see it," said Mr. Anson. Bertie was 
all eagerness to go. After a brief stroll they 
reached the temple grounds and leisurely ex- 
amined the great structure from without. 



UNDER SHADOW OF SHWAY DAGON. 189 

^' There will be time enough by-and-by for 
us to examine it more thoroughly ; besides this, 
we have not yet had breakfast. I imagine that 
we should have some difficulty to get about in 
the temple grounds, unless we had some one to 
guide us/^ Mr. Anson replied to Bertie's sug- 
gestion that they go inside. 

While seated at breakfast, a servant brought 
in a card, with the name ^'E,ev. I. K. Wilson 
and wife" upon it. 

" I do not know who this can be," said Mr. 
Anson ; " but, doubtless, it is some one of our 
kind missionary friends come to look us up. I 
will go right out to see them." 

Advancing to the parlor, he met a dark-eyed 
young man, who held out to him his left hand — 
for his right was missing — saying : 

" I presume that you do not know me, though 
I recollect you very well." 

" No," replied Mr. Anson, " you have the ad- 
vantage of me." 

" I used to be one of your Sunday-school at 



190 THE ANSONS IN ASIATIC TEMPLES. 

DicksoD, Ohio. You had not then become a 
minister. May-be you will remember me as the 
little boy — I must have been about seven years 
old then — who used to bring grasshoppers and 
toads to Sunday-school. I do not. know that 
you knew that I did it, for you never caught 
me at it; but I think it likely that you sus- 
pected me.'' 

" Well, well, are you that little chap ? And 
you a minister and a missionary ! I never 
thought it then,'' added Mr. Anson. 

" Yes, and I heard and remembered more of 
what you said, than you thought that I did. 
Well, now that you recognize me, I want you 
to come home with me. My wife and I are 
alone, and we would be real glad to have you 
occupy our spare room." 

" No, I cannot do that " — and Mr. Anson told 
Mr. Wilson of his plan in this tour in Asia. 
"You missionaries are all warm-hearted and 
hospitable, but I am so confident that, with 
my entire family, I should be a burden upon 



UNDER SHADOW OF SHWAY DAGON. 191 

you, that I have determined, wherever it was 
possible, to look out for myself." 

"Well, I do not want to insist in pressing 
my home upon you, but you will, at least, bring 
your family and dine with us occasionally dur- 
ing your stay. I came to know that you were 
here by hearing one of our brethren speak 
of your visit to Japan; and from his descrip- 
tion, I was quite sure that it was my old 
teacher of whom he was speaking, and so, 
with my wife, hastened in to be the first to 
claim you." 

Just then the rest of the Ansons came in, and 
shortly Mrs. Anson and Mrs. Wilson were hav- 
ing a quiet chat together, while Mr. Anson pro- 
ceeded to get Mr. Wilson's advice as to the best 
way to use the week that would elapse before a 
steamer would leave for Madras. Mr. Wilson 
suggested a day or two at Maulmain, and the 
rest of the time to be spent in and about Ran- 
goon. Mr. Anson had already mentioned the 
state of Mrs. Anson's health. 



192 THE ANSONS IN ASIATIC TEMPLES. 

"Suppose," suggested Mr. Wilson, "that to- 
morrow morning, just before sunrise, while it is 
yet cool, you and I and this young man climb 
to the top of Shway Dagon. You can get a 
glorious view from its top, and we can get up 
with no great difficulty.'^ 

" That will be like climbing up the Pyramids 
of Egypt, will it not?'' inquired Bertie. 

" Yes ; very much like it," Mr. Wilson replied, 
adding, "you must not go into the sun without 
an umbrella, nor had you better go out of doors 
at all during the heat of the day. About four 
o'clock, when I have dismissed my teacher, I 
will come and take you through the grounds of 
Shway Dagon." 

In the afternoon of the same day, the three 
strolled through the streets of Rangoon out to 
Shway Dagon. Something attracted Bertie's 
eyes, and he said : "What are those things for?" 

"Those are griffins, or guardian dogs. They 
are put there to keep out evil spirits. I suppose 
that we shall not be troubled by them." 



UNDER SHADOW OF SHWAY DAGON. 193 

Passing between the griffins into a long pas- 
sage-way, the Ansons found some very humble 
and yet very costly paintings — not very beauti- 
ful, but with so much gilding as to make them 
costly. "These show the tortures of wicked 
people," explained Mr. Wilson. 

Then coming to the foot of a flight of stairs, 
which they climbed, they found themselves upon 
a platform, about a thousand feet square, and 
from the middle of the platform rose the great 
golden pagoda, some five hundred feet in diam- 
eter at the base, and towering to a height of 
three hundred feet. 

" Do you think you will be afraid to climb up 
there, Bertie?" asked Mr. Anson. 

" We shall hire a few coolies to help us ; they 
will not let us fall," said Mr. Wilson. 

For an hour they rambled about the platform 
and grounds, among tlie smaller pyramids. 
Within the pagoda are some shrines and idols; 
the larger idols being made of brick and mortar 
gilded over, and the smaller ones of metal. 



194 THE ARSONS IN ASIATIC TEMPLES. 

"I will bring Dr. Finney, our veteran mis- 
sionary father, to see you to-night,'^ Mr. Wilson 
said. "He has been here some twenty-four or 
five years. He knows all about Burmah, and 
can tell you, as he told it to me, the story of the 
Shway Dagon. You will be interested in it, I 
know, and it will give you a better understanding 
of Buddhism and pagodas than you can get 
otherwise." 

Mrs. Anson, looking pale and weak, met Ber- 
tie and his father on their return. Bessie had 
stayed to care for her mother in their absence. 
Mr. Anson's heart was full of anxiety as he no- 
ticed Mrs. Anson's appearance. He made no 
other remark, however, than to say : 

"Dr. Finney and his wife are coming to see us 
to-night. I remember seeing Mrs. Finney some 
years ago, and I think that she will help you to 
feel qiiite bright and cheerful. Mi's. Wilson is 
coming for you with a pony and ^trap' to- 
morrow morning, when Mr. Wilson takes us to 
climb the Shway Dagon." 



UNDER SHADOW OF SHWAY DAGON. 195 

"What is a ^trap/ papa?" asked Bessie. 

"Don't you remember the low, broad carriages 
that we saw in Yokohama and in Shanghai?" 
asked Bertie. "Those are 'traps.' Is Mr. Wil- 
son rich, papa ? " 

"No; one of his friends, an English mer- 
chant, has bidden him use it whenever he wants, 
while he is taking a business trip up to Cal- 
cutta." 

Dr. Finney was a quiet, gentle-voiced, yet evi- 
dently learned speaker. He had translated the 
Buddhist legends from the Burmese, and had 
made himself familiar with the whole history of 
the Shway Dagon. Bertie sat in a bamboo chair, 
a little outside of the circle gathered upon the 
veranda, and, in the dusk, jotted down a few 
catchwords, from which he wrote out afterwards, 
with his father's help, 

THE STOEY OF SHWAY DAGON. 

"Two brothers from Burmah, once upon a 
time, made an oiFering to Gautama Buddha. 



196 THE ANSOIfS IN ASIATIC TEMPLES. 

He, in return, gave them eight hairs that came 
out when he stroked his head. He told them 
to build a pagoda over them. They started to 
return home, but on the way lost six of the 
hairs. In a miraculous way, they found them 
again. A good spu'it, a sort of fairy, told them 
where some other relics, of which Gautama had 
spoken, might be found. They dug a hole, and 
secured a water-scoop of one great saint, a robe 
of another, and the staff of a third. They built 
a shrine over these relics and the eight hairs. 
Others, later on, enlarged the pagoda over the 
relics, until it got to be of its present size. 
About four hundred and twenty-five years ago, 
a Burmese king cast a gigantic bell for the pa- 
goda. The whole of the outside is covered with 
gold leaf, a little 'patchy/ because put on at dif- 
ferent times, and with gold leaf of different fine- 
ness. The Ktee, or umbrella-shaped finial on the 
top, is made, as you will see to-morrow, if the 
guard will let you go near enough, of a number 
of gilded iron rings, from which hang a great 



UNDER SHADOW OF SHWAY DAGON. 197 

many little silver and bra.ss bells, that are swung 
and rung by the wind. N.^ ]^„g ^^^^ ^^^ ^^ 
the kings put up a new h'tee.. It was studded 




WORSHIPING A TOOTH OF BUDDHi 



198 THE ARSONS IN ASIATIC TEMPLES. 

hundred thousand dollars. The present king has 
given a few gems. 

" The bell near the pagoda, big enough for a 
man to stand upright within it, was once carried 
off by the British. But they could not load it, 
it was so heavy, and it fell into the sea. The 
Burmese say that the gods restored it to the 
Shway Dagon. The bell has a great deal of gold 
in it." 

After much pleasant conversation, the Finneys 
and their friends retired, leaving the Ansons 
alone. The next morning they were to rise 
early and make the ascent of the pagoda. But 
in the night a fierce wind blew, and so shattered 
the scaffolding that it was deemed unsafe for peo- 
ple to climb it. 

The next morning, therefore, instead of going 
to Shway Dagon, together with Mr. Wilson, the 
Ansons went aboard the little steamer that was 
to bear them to Maulmain. As they entered 
the Salweu River, on which Maulmain is situ- 
ated, ]Vfr. Wilson pointed out the enclosure 



UNDER SHADOW OF SHWAY DAGOI^. 199 

in which is the grave of the first Mrs. Judson ; 
wliere sixty years ago her body had been laid 
away to rest. 

Rangoon and its neighborhood was level and 
flat, but Maulraain was situated in a hilly 
country. Pagodas crown every hill-top. It 
seemed to Mr. Anson as if the whole neighbor- 
hood was full of historic associations with Dr. 
Judson's work. If Bertie had been impressed 
with his visit to the missionaries in Japan and 
China and Siam; if any feelings that possibly 
he ought to be a missionary had been started in 
his heart, by his conversations with Sasaki, or 
with Dr. Kean, he was much more moved by 
the sights of Maulmain, the missionaries' graves, 
their old homes, and the scenes of their labors. 
Here, for the first time, he ventured to tell his 
mamma of what he had been thinking:. Press- 
ing him to her heart with all a mother's love, 
she said: 

" We should be glad to have you always with- 
in easy reach of us, Bertie. We love you 



200 THE ANSONS IN ASIATIC TEMPLES. 

dearly. It would indeed be a great sacrifice '^ 
— ^and the tears began to flow at the thought of 
a separation — " to have 
you thousands of miles 
from father or mother. 
Yet you will be a man 




PAGODA OF MAULMAIK. 



then, and we must not let our love for you be 
stroncrer than our love for our Saviour. Do not 



make any promises, my boy; but think about 



UNDER SHADOW OF SIT WAY DAGON. 201 

it, pray about it, and our Heavenlr Father will 
surely tell you what to do Avhen tlie time 
comes." 

"What is that, mamma?" Bertie had not 
yet, he felt, grown too old to use the child- 
like "mamma." 

"Don't you recognize the bells, my son? 
They are the pagoda bells. On the Maulmain 
pagoda's Wtees the bells are almost all of silver. 
How sweetly the bells ring ! Did you ever read 
Mrs. Emily Judson's poem, * Watching,' the one 
that was composed while Dr. Judson lay in his 
sickness? ISTo? Let me repeat a few of the 
lines : 

On the pagoda spire, 

The bells are swinging, 

Their little golden circlet in a flutter, 

With tales the wooing winds have dared to utter, 

Till all are ringing, 

As if a choir 

Of golden-nested birds, in heaven were singing ; 

And with a lulling sound, 

The VQ.\mG floats around, 

And drops like balm into the drowsy ear ; 

Commingling with the hum 



202 THE anso:j^s in Asiatic temples. 

Of the Sepoy's distant drum, 
And lazy beetle ever droning near. 
Sounds, these of deepest silence born, 
Like night made visible by morn ; 
So silent, that I sometimes start. 
To hear the throbbings of my heart, 
And watch, with shivering sense of pain, 
To see thy pale lids lift again. 

For several long hours they conversed to- 
gether of Dr. Judson's earnest career, and, when 
they knelt together, side by side, in silent 
prayer, Bertie felt that he had been brought 
to know more perfectly that his young heart 
and his whole future life belonged to his 
Saviour. An earnest prayer for God's guid- 
ance of their son went up from both father's 
and mother's heart, after Mrs. Anson had told 
her husband of their boy's thoughts. 

" Perhaps," suggested Mr. Anson, " God will 
send him as my substitute." The tears trembled 
in his eyes, as he once more recalled his own de- 
sire to be a missionary and the denied pleasure. 
"God save my boy from such a disappointment 
as mine ! " he said to Mrs. Anson. " We must 



UNDER SHADOW OF SHWAY DAGON. 203 

try to train him physically, as well as men- 
tally and spiritually, to qualify him for his 
work." 

After a thorough exploration of the pagodas 
of Maulmain, and after another day of pleasant 
Lord's Day worship with the Christians of the 
city, the Ansons and Mr. Wilson started on their 
return to Rangoon. Mrs. Anson seemed, owing 
doubtless to the short trip from Rangoon to 
Maulmain, to be in somewhat better health 
than when they landed in Burmah. 

The evening before they set sail for Madras, 
the missionaries of Rangoon met for their 
monthly missionary prayer-meeting. The piety 
and devotion of the missionaries was apparent 
in their prayers and words, and Mr. Anson 
seemed to feel that his own spiritual strength 
had been revived by being in the meeting. 

"Yet," thought he, "how hard it must be 
where • the missionaries are situated in lonely 
places, and where from year's beginning to 
year's end they hear no other voice in prayer 



204 THE ANSOXS IN ASIATIC TEMPLES. 

than that of those who look to them for direc- 
tioD ! Surely they need our prayers." 

Nor did the memory of the missionaries, es- 
pecially of Mr. Wilson and of Dr. Finney, fade 
away, as, from the steamer's deck, they waved 
their hands in a good-bye. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

FROM RANGOON TO MADRAS. 

A S the wind blew steadily from the east, the 
vessel spread all its sails, and under press 
of steam and sail the passage from Rangoon 
to Madras, from Burmah to India, was quickly 
made. The Bay of Bengal is ^Hhe vast and 
wandering" grave of our great Dr. Judson; 
the Indian Ocean is the mighty tomb in which 
the precious remains of Dr. Binney are laid. 
Here their bodies rest, till the sea gives up 
its dead. Here, not far from the land they 
loved, whose graves shall yield their dead, too, 
when the Lord shall come. 

Many boats were at the steamer's side almost 
as soon as she had anchored. The boats, as 
Bertie saw at once, were unlike any of those 
that they had seen in other countries. They 
were made of long planks sewed together. The 

205 



206 THE ANSONS IN ASIATIC TEMPLES. 

seams were calked, yet appeared to be leaky. 
The flat bottom was covered with twigs, to keep 
the feet of the passengers dry. The sides seemed 
to be bent very easily, but in that consisted their 
safety. The oars, Bessie thought, looked like 
huge spoons. It was a delicate task, getting 
to shore without a wetting. The sea is always 
rough, the waves always rolling, and the surf 
always breaking. There is a huge harbor in 
process of building at present; gigantic break- 
waters are to enclose a basin nearly a thousand 
yards square. Had the Ansons come a few 
years later, they might have been saved much 
unpleasantness in landing. As it was, Mrs. 
Anson and Bessie had to be let down into the 
little Masula boats in arm-chairs lowered by 
ropes. It seemed, sometimes, as if the tiny 
boats would be swamped by the waves. But the 
Ansons reached the beach in safety, and were 
carried through the wet sand by the boatmen. 

Gharries, or bullock-carriages, stood along the 
beach, and Mr. Anson put Bessie and Mrs. 



FROM RANGOON TO MADRAS. 207 

Anson into one, while he and Bertie trudged 
behind, screening themselves from the hot sun 
by their white umbrellas. They went imme- 
diately to the hotel nearest the landing, kept by 
a Swiss lady. The voyage had greatly strength- 
ened Mrs. Anson, and, once more, her husband 
ventured to hope that they could complete their 
tour more leisurely, and take in all the places 
they had planned to visit. Mr. Anson had 
hoped to go by the railway, and visit Bangalore, 
Trichinopoly, and Madura, taking his family 
with him. Later he had thought to take a 
steamer and proceed to Calcutta. It was now 
midwinter ; yet the heat at noonday was very op- 
pressive, and Mrs. Anson seemed to feel almost 
immediately the change from the sea to the 
shore. This disconcerted Mr. Anson's plans, 
yet he knew not how to re-arrange them. As 
had happened everywhere else, so in Madras, 
the American missionaries began to call on Mr. 
Anson. It was one of the pleasantest parts of 
th:; journey, this privilege of meeting so many 



208 THE ANSONS IN ASIATIC TEMPLES. 

of the missionaries. Some of the missionaries 
were resident in Madras; yet others had come 
to attend a meeting of the missionary workers 
among the Telugu people. Among the rest 
were several who had just returned from a 
furlough in America, and had delayed their 
departure for Guntoor and Nellore, until after 
the missionary meeting. Mr. Anson met these 
friends at the gathering to which he had been 
invited. In the course of conversation, one of 
them, Mr. Newhold, from Guntoor, hearing Mr. 
Anson mention that his plans were upset and 
that he scarcely knew what to do, suggested a 
scheme, which Mr. Anson soon afterwards 
adopted. Mr. Newhold remarked: 

"It will be better that Mrs. Anson should 
be as little exposed as possible to the dangers 
of a land residence. Yet you would wish her to 
see as much of the country and people as pos- 
sible. The places which are of great missionary 
interest are right along the road to Guntoor, 
Ongole for instance. Now you and your family 



FROM RANGOON TO MADRAS. 209 

can leave Madras and go with me to Guntoor. 
I will see you across the Godavery River to 
Masulipatam, where the Calcutta steamers stop. 
Then you can all go on together to Calcutta, 
or Mrs. Anson and Bessie can take the steamer, 
and yourself and your son proceed overland by 
way of Juggernaut to Calcutta." 

"But I think that I had better not leave 
Mrs. Anson ; she is hardly able to look out 
for herself, in her condition of health," re- 
plied Mr, Anson. 

"I notice," said Mr. Newhold, "that she 
looks as if the fever had touched her. But 
you can determine your course after you get 
to Guntoor. Yet, wait a moment, till I speak 
with one of the ladies yonder." 

"Now, do not go to any trouble," called Mr. 
Anson after him. 

Mr. Newhold approached the ladies, saying: 

" May I interrupt you ? I would like to ask 
if any of you ladies are going on to Calcutta 
shortly." 



210 THE ANSONS IN ASIATIC TEMPLES. 

"Yes/' said a rather stout, yet active and 
pleasant little woman. "I am going, but not 
at once. I must wait over a steamer till our 
Miss McCally comes back from Madura, where 
she has gone to see a friend." 

" Let me see," continued Mr. Newhold ; " that 
will be about three weeks from now, will it not. 
Miss Bristow ? " 

" Yes, just about." 

" Could you look after a lady and her daugh- 
ter, in Calcutta, if they met you on the steamer 
at Masulipatam ? That is the lady over yonder." 

"Well, I think that I could. Shall I have 
to look after her husband too ? " she asked, with 
a smile. 

"No, I think that he may go by land to 
Calcutta, while he sends his wife by sea." 

"Of course, I shall be glad to do anything 
for her." 

"And anybody else. Miss Bristow; you are 
wonderfully kind-hearted," appreciatively re- 
marked Mrs. Newhold. 



FROM RANGOON TO MADRAS. 211 

"Please introduce me to her, Mr. Newhold, 
and then I can tell her, myself, how glad I 
shall be of her company," said Miss Bristow. 

The matter was soon arrano^ed ; and a day or 




WORSHIP IN TEMPLE OF KRISHNA. 



two afterward, in company with the Newholds 
and several other missionaries, the Ansons set 
off for Guntoor. Tlie first ninety miles was 



212 THE AKSONS IN ASIATIC TEMPLES. 

traveled in a boat on the canal; the rest of 
the way to Nellore — about seventeen miles — 
by palanquin. At Nellore, they arrived just 
before the Lord's Day. It was a delightful 
day of rest, spent in worship with the Telugu 
Christians. Just about sunset ten or eleven can- 
didates were baptized in the baptistery in the 
midst of the garden, a most beautiful spot for 
the burial ceremony, the resurrection ordinance. 
While at Nellore, Dr. Downing showed to 
Mr. Anson a little gold coin that has a curious 
history. About a hundred years before, a peas- 
ant ploughed against some brick-work. On dig- 
ging deeper, he found the ruins of an old Hin- 
doo Temple of Krishna, or Juggernaut. The 
centre of this worship is now carried on farther 
up the coast. Many pictures of that worship, 
as it existed in olden times, are yet to be had. 
Underneath the temple, this peasant found a 
pot full of Eoman coins and medals of the 
second century after Christ. They were sold 
as old gold and, all but thirty, were melted 



FROM RANGOON TO MADRAS. 213 

down. The one in Dr. Downing's possession 
had the name of Trajan upon it. It seemed 
strange to find old Roman coins in a Hindoo 
Temple. 

Leaving Nellore, about seventy-five miles fur- 
ther on, they came to Ongole. Ongole is only 
about one-fourth the size of Nellore, but it is a 
town occupying a large place in the hearts of 
American Christians, because of the famous in- 
gathering of thousands of Telugu converts in the 
church at this place. The pagoda of a heathen 
shrine towered up on one side, as our friends ap- 
proached Ongole, while the missionary buildings 
gleamed in the sunshine on the other. In the 
background rose the hill upon which Dr. Jewett, 
in the days of discouragement, had prayed God 
to save Ongole, and God responded by sending 
Mr. Clough, the earnest and successful missionary. 

Here, again, came impressions w^hich strength- 
ened and deepened the convictions in Bertie's 
heart. The hours flew by all too quickly during 
their two days' tour among the Christian ham- 



214 THE ANSOXS IN ASIATIC TEMPLES. 



lets. The visit to "prayer-meeting hill" the 
repetition of the story of the great occurrence 

on its top, 



the prayer- 
meeting that 
the visitors 
held there, 
were events 
never to be 




TEACHING A CHILD TO WORSHIP GANESHA. 

Beyond Ongole, just before reacliing Guntoor, 
in passing a shrine, Bessie, who had lefl her 



FROM RANGOON TO MADRAS, 215 

palanquin, peeped in. Running quickly to her 
mamma's palanquin, she motioned the bearers to 
stop, and then asked her mamma to come and 
see something. Walking to the entrance of the 
shrine, they saw a Hindoo mother, with her veil 
thrown back, kneeling, and holding her little 
boy's arms, while evidently teaching him to say 
his prayers to an ugly old idol with an ele- 
phant's head. 

"What is it?" called back Mr. Newhold. 

"Something very funny," said Bessie. 

"Yes, and very sad," added Mrs. Anson. 

'^Tliat is Ganesha, the God of Wisdom," said 
Mr, Newhold. "He is a very popular god. He 
is, as you see, partly a man and partly an ele- 
phant. The children in the schools are taught 
to pray to him, and he is adored by all who wish 
to become acquainted with Hindu learning and 
so-called wisdom. You will see his images and 
shrines in temples and schools, and also, occasion- 
ally, under the trees by the roadsides. I will 
show you one about a mile further on." 



216 THE ANSONS IN ASIATIC TEMPLES. 

When they reached this wayside idol, Mr. 
I^ewhold stopped, and all rested in the shade 
before the great idol. 

"What is the elephant's head for?" inquired 
Bertie. 

" The elephant is one of the most sagacious of 
animals; the Hindus recognize this, and they 
choose to use the elephant as the symbol of 
wisdom and prudence and sagacity, as others 
worship the serpent as the symbol of cunning, 
and the sun as the symbol of power. Ganesh, 
or Ganesha, as we generally call him, has his 
great festivals, like the other gods. There is 
one festival, up in northern India, so I have 
read, where they place Ganesh upon a boat, and, 
accompanied with other boats containing priests 
and musicians, they row up and down the 
Ganges. The crowds that line the shore make 
the air to resound with their shouts and songs." 

Passing Hindus stopped, even while the vis- 
itors tarried, and mumbled over prayers to 
Ganesha. 




The Ansons. 



Page 216. 



A WAYSIDE IDOL. 



FROM RANGOON TO MADRAS. 217 

Guutoor was reached soon, and the party were 




GUARDS BEFORE THE HETDU TEMPLE. 

made quite at home in Mr. ISTewhold^s quarters. 
On Mr. Newhold's suggestion that Guntoor was 



218 THE ANSONS IN ASIATIC TEMPLES. 

a remarkably healthy town, Mr. Anson con- 
cluded to stay here during the three days that 
must elapse before the steamer would leave for 
Masulipatam. There were no temples of any 
note in the vicinity of Guntoor. A single trip 
was made to the hills, a short distance back of 
the town, to visit the cave temples. Before the 
entrance of the chief temple stood a pair of 
mystic horses, with their grooms, the whole be- 
ing the guardians of the place. These cave 
temples were at one time Buddhist places of 
worship; but long since they were converted 
into Hindu temples, and the images of Buddha 
altered into Hindu gods. 

In the pleasant and cheerful home of Mr. and 
Mrs. Newhold, the days passed swiftly away. 
The little, one-storied bungalow, with its simple 
furniture, seemed a little paradise, owing to the 
warm hospitality, and the quiet yet sincere piety 
of the home-keepers. There were but few serv- 
ants about. 

"This is one reason," said Mrs. Newhold, 



FROM RANGOON TO MADRAS. 219 

"why we prefer so small and slightly furnished 
a bungalow, that we need fewer servants. In 
India, a servant can do only one thing. If you 
see some dirt on the floor, and tell a chamber- 
maid to brush it up, she cannot do it, but will 
tell the head-servant to send tlie sweeper to 
brush up the dirt. If you take a bath, you 
must have one servant to fill the tub and another 
to empty it. The more you multiply your con- 
veniences, the more you must increase the num- 
ber of servants." 

Bessie was particularly delighted with one of 
the Hindu women, who, on becoming a Chris- 
tian, took up her residence on the compound. 
She had learned a little of the English language, 
and seemed to take a great deal of pleasure in 
trying to talk with Bessie. Her expressions of 
Christian joy, and her delight in the Scriptures, 
touched tlie little American girl's heart. 

Mr. Newhold accompanied the Ansons across 
the Godavery River, and saw them safe in Ma- 
sulipatam. Before returning, he secured as a 



220 THE ANSONS IN ASIATIC TEMPLES. 

guide for Mr. Anson, an Eurasian, a man whose 
father was an Englishman, and whose mother 
was a Hindu. This Eurasian, John Christian 
by name, was to take the entire charge of Mr. 
Anson and Bertie, and to accompany them to 
Calcutta. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

JUGOERNAVT AND KALI. 

rilHE British India Steam Navigation Com- 
pany's steamer was very nearly on time 
at Masulipatam, and as the Ansons and Mr. 
Newhold reached the head of the gangway, 
they saw the bright, round face of Miss Bristow 
shining upon them. 

*^I am glad to see you once more. Are you 
better or worse than when we left you at 
Madras? I mean, do you feel stronger? We 
shall take good care of Mrs. Anson, when we 
get her in our Mission Home in Calcutta. I 
am planning to take her with me in some of my 
visits to the zenanas — where we met the Hindu 
women, you know. If she is quick at em- 
broidery, we shall give her a chance to do 
some mission work, in trying to teach some 
of our Hindu pupils some new stitches.'' 

231 



222 THE ANSONS IN ASIATIC TEMPLES. 

"Won't that be splendid, mamma? I can 
help a little too ; can't I ?" asked Bessie. 

"Yes, indeed/' replied Miss Bristow; "we are 
glad to get all the help we can. I hope that 
Mr. Anson will not hurry to get to Calcutta, 
for we should like to keep you a long time to 
ourselves." 

After a little, when Mr. Anson was walking 
the deck with Miss Bristow, he communicated 
to her his plans until reaching Calcutta. 

"We are going to continue on the road run- 
ning along the bay, through Ganjam, Pm-i — 
where the temples of Jagannath, or Juggernaut, 
are, and where we shall stay several days — and 
then by Katak and Midnapur to Calcutta. If 
Mrs. Anson should become ill, will you please 
send me word by special messenger to one of 
these places, and I will hurry on?" 

"Certainly, if you wish it; but I hope that 
she will not need your presence," said Miss Bris- 
tow in assent. 

"We shall not, but I shall rest more easy if 



JUGGERNAUT AND KALI. 223 

I know that, if I do not hear to the contrary, 
she LS not ill. You are indeed wonderfully kind 
to us strangers. God bless you for it!" said 
Mr. Anson. 

"We are expecting to 'entertain angels/ 
though not altogether 'unawares.' You may 
rest easy about Mrs. Anson, for we will give 
her the best care possible, should she need it. 
By the way, I have a letter which was brought 
to Madras just after you left, addressed in the 
care of one of your missionaries. He asked 
me to bring it to you when we should meet 
you here." 

"Oh, this is for my son, and not for me. I 
received several letters from home, and I could 
not imagine from whom this could come. I 
will hand it to Bertie. Here, Bertie, is a 
letter for you." 

"A Garfield five cent stamp! Then it is 
from America," said Bertie; "and from Phila- 
delphia. I do not know that I am acquainted 
with any one there.'' 



224 THE anso:n^s in Asiatic temples. 

" Open it and see/^ suggested Mr. Anson. 
Bertie did so and read : 

"Philadelphia, N^ov. S7, I884. 

"Mk. Albekt a. Anson. 

"Dear Sir: — You will pardon me, or I 
ought to say, us — for I am writing for others 
— for trespassing upon your good nature. Our 
teacher happened to see in one of the Chicago 
papers that your family were going around the 
world. She met your father at a Sunday-school 
Convention several years ago. We have a Mis- 
sion Band, who are making a ^stay at home' 
tour in mission lands. We are reading and 
studying about the temples and the mission 
work in Asia. When we left China, we hap- 
pened to hear of you, and our teacher suggested 
to us to write to you, so that the letter would 
reach you at Madras, and ask you to tell us 
something about the Juggernaut Temple at 
Puri. We will read your letter to our Band, 
and we shall be very glad to get information 
from one who has seen that of which he writes. 



JUGGEENAUT AND KALI. 225 

Our Band has made imaginary journeys in 
Japan and China, and are now in Burmah, and 
we shall reach India just about the time your 
letter reaches us. It is because we are so much 
interested in our plan of study — and we have 
such a good leader to help us in it — that we 
have asked this great favor of you. 
"Yours truly, 

"Eugene R. Copeland." 

" Well, I think that I can do that much for 
them," thought Bertie. 

Bidding good-bye to each other, the family 
separated, and soon the Masula boats bore Mr. 
Newhold, Mr. Anson, and Bertie ashore. John 
Christian met them as they landed, and took 
Mr. Anson and Bertie under his care forth- 
with. From Masulipatam to Puri the journey 
was uneventful. Many interesting temples and 
shrines were to be seen. But in Mr. Anson's 
mind, in spite of his efforts to the contrary, 
there was an uneasiness about Mrs. Anson 

until he reached Puri. When he came to 

p 



226 THE ANSONS IN ASIATIC TEMPLES. 

that city, he sent John Christian to the col- 
lector's house — where the messenger was to 
have been sent — to see if any word had come 
from Miss Bristow. Finding none, he was 
considerably relieved, and went to examining, 
with interest, the Juggernaut temples. One 
afternoon, when somewhat wearied with sight- 
seeing, while his father lay stretched out under 
a panhha^ or punkah^ a swinging fan, Bertie 
began his letter to the young man in Phila- 
delphia. In but a few days it would be Christ- 
mas time, and Christmas thoughts had been 
running through Bertie's head all day : 

" PuRi, December 23 ^ I884. 

^' Mr. Eugene R. Copeland, 

" DeaPw Sir : — Your letter was brought to 
me just before we started for this place, where 
are the Juggernaut temples, of which you 
wrote. I write the answer under the shadow 
of the temples. Do not think that I found 
out all that I write, myself; my father and 
our Eurasian guide helped me in getting to 



JUGGERNAUT AND KALI. 



227 



know about the temple. We came here two 
days ago, and shall stay several days more. 
"I think that your plan of study must be 




TEMPLE OF JUGK3EENAUT AT PUKI. 

a very interesting way of getting information, 
and better than just writing essays and j-eading 
pieces from missionary books. 



228 THE ANSONS IN ASIATIC TEMPLES. 

"Papa suggests that I had better ask your 
indulgence before I begin, because my letter 
will have to be pretty long to tell you about 
the worship of Juggernaut and his temples. 
We have seen other temples and shrines be- 
longing to his worship, but nothing so large 
as these at Puri. 

"Juggernaut is a celebrated god. He is 
called the " Lord of the World." His images 
are as ugly as you can imagine. Generally, 
they are made of wood; in some temples 
placed three together, one of blue, one of 
white, and one of yellow. Juggernaut has 
many temples ; the one at Puri, on the western 
shore of the Bay of Bengal, being the largest, 
and esteemed the most holy. The pagoda stands 
at the end of the principal street of the city, 
which is very wide, and lined with dwellings 
for the priests, small shrines, and other sacred 
buildings. The wall that surrounds the temple 
is twenty-one feet high, and forms an enclosure 
six hundred and fifty feet each side. The prin- 



JUGGERNAUT AND KALI. 229 

cipal building rises to the height of one hundred 
and eighty-four feet. The main gateway is 
crowded with Fakirs, or devotees — ' cranks/ 
we should call them. On each side of the 
entrance is a mammoth lion. Just before us, 
as we enter, is an image of the monkey-god, 
Hanuman. 

" The temple is dedicated to Krishna, or 
Juggernaut — sometimes written Jagan-nath — 
and his companions, Siva and Sathadra. The 
idols of each are rude, hideous looking sculj^- 
tured blocks of wood, each about six feet high. 
The faces of these idols are hideous. Krishna 
is painted dark blue, Siva white, and Sathadra 
yellow. Before the altar an image of the hawk- 
god, Garounda, is placed. Every day, we are 
told, the idols are feasted. Their food consists 
of four hundred and ten pounds of rice, two 
hundred and tw^enty-five pounds of flour, three 
hundred and fifty pounds of butter, one hundred 
and sixty-seven pounds of treacle, sixty-five 
pounds of vegetables, one hundred and e'ghty- 



230 THE ANSOXS IN ASIATIC TEMPLES. 

six pounds of milk, twenty-four pounds of 
spices, thirty-four pounds of salt, and forty- 
one pounds of oil. While the food is being 
placed before the gods, all but a favored few 
are excluded from the temple, and the doors 
are shut. There are over twenty thousand holy 
men connected with this temple, and we can 
easily guess that they help the idols to get rid 
of this great mass of food ; at any rate it all 
speedily disappears. The idols, strange as it 
may seem, are washed and dressed daily with 
great seriousness. 

"On June 18, Juggernaut's great festival oc- 
curs. Formerly, great multitudes assembled at 
this time from every part of the laud. Men, 
women, and children, in crowds, thronged to the 
city days in advance, and waited with impatience 
for the festival day to come. The Car Festival, 
celebrated at Puri, is usually attended by more 
than five hundred thousand pilgrims, nearly half 
of whom are females. There is great suffering 
among these pilgrims, and many of them die of 



JUGGERNAUT AND KALI, 231 

excessive fatigue, exposure to the annual rains, 
and the want of suitable and sufficient food. 
TJie plains, in many places, are literally whitened 
with their bones, while dogs and vultures are 
continually devouring the bodies of the dead. 

'^At the appointed time, each idol was washed, 
dressed in silk and gold, and placed upon his 
triumphal car. The car of Juggernaut con- 
sists of an elevated platform, thirty-four feet 
square, supported by sixteen wheels, each of 
them six and a half feet in diameter. It is 
covered with cloth of gold and costly stuffs, 
and a Juggernaut is placed under a canopy. 
Six ropes or cables, three hundred feet in length, 
are attached to the car, by means of which the 
people draw it from place to place. The whole 
car is covered with sculptures in the Hindu style. 

"Thousands seize these ropes, as many as 
could get hold. In their fanatical frenzy, they 
crowded and shouldered and shoved one another, 
counting themselves happy if they could only 
lay a hand on the ropes. The Car Festival 



234 THE ANSONS IN ASIATIC TEMPLES. 

talking was heard outside the door^ and in a 
moment John Christian pushed his way in, 
saying : 

"Master, here is some one who wants to see 
you." 

"Well, I will come right away." 

Clad in his pajamas, Mr. Anson went to the 
door and found a stout, swarthy Hindu un- 
wrapping a letter, which he handed, with many 
salams, to Mr. Anson. 

"Mem sahib, the missis, she sick," he mut- 
tered to John Christian. 

It was indeed true; Miss Bristow had hastily 
written that Mrs. Anson was taken sick. It 
might be only a slight attack of the fever, or 
it might be more serious. She had felt it her 
duty, as she had promised, to write Mr. Anson. 
They had good physicians, and everything would 
be done for Mrs. Anson that could be done. 
This only partially relieved Mr. Anson's anxiety. 
AYhen he had dismissed the messeno;er, havino; 
paid him, he sat down to think it all over and 



JUGGERNAUT AND KALI. 235 

to pray for the safety of his loved wife. He 
had not noticed John Christian sitting on the 
floor near the door. Finally, John ventured 
to say : 

"Master, may I speak?" 

"Yes, what is it, John?" 

"A steamer will leave for Calcutta to-morrow. 
If master will go in it, he can be in Calcutta in 
two or three days from now." 

" Can we? I am glad you have spoken of it. 
We will go." 

"But, master, it is hard to get to the steamer, 
the surf is so very bad." 

"Well, we will venture it." 

"We might get some life-belts, master, and 
then it wonld be safer." 

"Well, get two, John, for Bertie and me. 
You can go back to Guntoor, though I will 
pay you just as if you had gone on to Calcutta, 
for you have taken good care of us." 

It was well that life-belts had been provided, 
for Bertie lost his hold when the boat rose on an 



236 THE ARSONS IN ASIATIC TEMPLES. 

unusually heavy wave, and was tossed into the 
water. For a moment, he struggled, and then 
allowed himself to be borne up by his belt. The 
boatmen soon fished him into the boat, though 
with considerable difficulty. The steamer was 
reached a few moments later, and Bertie soon 
appeared in a borrowed suit, while his own 
clothes were spread in the sun to dry. 

When Calcutta was reached, Mr. Anson and 
Bertie entered one of the great crowd of gharries 
that stood about the wharf, and were quickly 
brought to the Woman's Mission Home. To 
his great joy, Mr. Anson found Mrs. Anson in 
an improved condition and able to sit up. In a 
few days she was able to drive out. Pleasant 
hours were spent in the Botanical Gardens, and 
in riding on the Maidan, or the Esplanade of 
Calcutta. From one of the missionaries' libra- 
ries. Miss Bristow had borrowed for Mrs. 
Anson's use, quite a number of illustrated 
volumes on India and its temples. In this 
way, Mrs. Anson sought to get that informa- 



JUGGERNAUT AJ^B KALI. 237 

tion which Mr. Anson was getting by actual 
observation. Her recollection of the pagodas 
of Eangoon and Maul main caused Mrs. Anson 
to feel a particular interest in the Buddhist 
monuments of India, the land where the Bud- 
dhist religion was born. The great topes, or 
pagodas, as they might be called elsewhere, 
are all in ruins, yet they give signs of a 
former magnificence. One of the greatest of 
these is the Sanchi Tope. This is a dome-like 
structure of solid brick and stone, about sixty 
feet high. There are entrances at all the four 
points of the compass. These gate- ways are 
picturesque objects, even in their ruins. In 
the very heart of the tope an Englishman 
found small caskets, carved in precious marbles, 
containing pieces of burnt bone and ashes, all 
that was left of Buddhist saints who lived 
twenty-one hundred years ago. All the topes 
are monuments over Buddhist relics. 

One hideous idol, which Bertie and his papa 
were taken to see, was that of the bloody goddess 



238 THE ANSONS IN ASIATIC TEMPLES. 




IDOL OF THE GODDESS KALI. 

Kali. The missionaries persuaded, with little 
eiFort, Mrs. Anson and Bessie to refrain from 
going to Kali's Temple. 



JUGGERNAUT AND KALI. 239 

"This is a queer idol," said Bertie, to the 
missionary who had accompanied them to the 
temple. "I should think nobody would ever 
care to worship such a hideous, murderous-look- 
ing goddess." 

"On the contrary, Kali is a very popular 
goddess, even though her images are the pic- 
tures of terror. She wears a head-dress of 
snakes, and a necklace consisting of a chain of 
skulls. In her hand she holds a murderous- 
looking knife. Kali is the wife of Siva, the 
destroyer. In September, a festival is held in 
her honor, called the Doorga-pooja. In all of 
Kali's temples, her idols are gayly adorned with 
floAvers, and prayers are offered to her during 
days of dancing and singing. 

There used to be a sect of murderous 
stranglers, known as Thugs, who were es- 
pecially devoted to the worship of Kali, and 
who performed their murderous work as a re- 
ligious service to that goddess. The story of 
this people opens up a chapter of the greatest 



240 THE ANSONS IN ASIATIC TEMPLES. 

cruelty, going far beyond all the ordinary 
records of crime. Yet it was all done from 
a religious motive, as well as for love of 
plunder. Strange that it could be so ! The 
legend that accounts for their origin is as 
follows : 

"A long while ago a giant demon infested 
this world, destroying mankind. The goddess 
Kali, to save mankind from utter destruction, 
attacked this demon and cut him down; but 
from the drops of blood that fell to the ground, 
immediately there sprang up other demons — a 
host of them. The Kali created two men, to 
whom she gave handkerchiefs, and whom she 
taught to strangle the demons without shedding 
blood. This was done, lest, if their blood be 
shed, more demons should spring up. Kali 
intended, in this way, to destroy the whole 
brood. When these men had strangled all the 
demons, she bade them strangle men in the 
same way, to repay her for her service to man- 
kind. From these two men the Thugs came.'' 



JUGGERNAUT AND KALI. 241 

During all the time the missionary was giving 
this description of Kali and the Thugs, the peo- 
ple were coming and going, bringing their of- 
ferings and presenting their prayers. The con- 
ception seemed so horrible that it was a relief to 
get into the open air. Though, for many days, 
Kali haunted Bertie like a nightmare. 

The health of Mrs. Anson improving, and 
the doctor interposing no objection, preparations 
for continuing the journey were made, and the 
overland trip was begun after several weeks had 
been spent in Calcutta. 



Q 



CHAPTER XY. 

VER LAND THR UGH ISDIA. 

A N extensive railway journey in the land of 
elephants' howclahs, of huWoGk-gha7TieSj 
of palanquins, of masula boats, was indeed a 
novelty. Since leaving Japan's short railroads, 
none had been encountered until now. There 
liappeued to be no one else in the compartment 
of the car that the Ansons occupied. The cars 
were unlike those in America, in that each car 
was divided up into rooms. Very soon after 
starting, Bertie found that there was a sort of 
shelf, or berth, that could be lowered over the 
wide, cushioned seats on either side of the com- 
partment. They had started in the evening, by 
Miss Bristow's advice, so that Mrs. Anson might 
not become over-wearied. So the discovery of 
the bunks was quite opportune. Anticipating 
that the cold would be greater in traveling at 

242 



OVERLAND THROUGH INDIA. 243 

night, Mr. Anson had provided four thick 
traveling rugs. He and Bertie mounted to 
the upper berths, and Mrs. Anson and Bessie 
slept on the sofas. For several hours they kept 
up a conversation, but late in the evening tliey 
slept quietly. They took their breakfast at 
Mokamah, where there was a delay of an hour 
or so. At Dinapur there ^vas another oppor- 
tunity of getting refreshments. The country 
along the railroad was low and flat, with mud- 
huts rising here and there. Everywhere the 
natives were getting ready their breakfast of 
plain boiled rice, the one great article of food 
in Asia. Often the railroad wound along the 
banks of the Ganges River. Many strangely 
shaped boats were moving to and fro. Oc- 
casionally, a crocodile could be seen, on the 
outlook for his morning meal. 

Benares, the Holy City of India, was to be 
the first stopping point. At Mogul Serai, where 
they changed cars, Mr. Anson sent a dispatch 
— as he had been advised to do — to secure two 



244 THE ANSONS IN ASIATIC TEMPLES. 

rooms in the best hotel of Benares, and that a 
carriage might meet them. Thus they experi- 
enced no difficulty in getting through the crowd 
of porters thronging the neighborhood of the 
station. They crossed the river on the bridge 
of boats, and soon the carriage was climbing 
the cliff upon w^hich Benares is built. The 
Ghats, or flights of steps, leading up to the 
temples, or sacred rest-houses for pious pil- 
grims, rose from the river's edge to the cliff 
above. 

That same afternoon, under the guidance of a 
servant from the hotel, the Ansons took a ride 
upon the River Ganges in a steam-launch. This 
gave the best opportunity for a first view of the 
city, and also afforded many chances of seeing 
tlie scenes characteristic of the Holy City and 
the Sacred River. On the way they visited the 
Durga Temple, often called the Monkey Temple, 
because of the myriads of monkeys that live 
in the gigantic trees near it. 

The steam-launch ascended the river to the 



OVERLAND THROUGH INDIA. 



245 



bridge of boats, and then, returning, stopped at 
the will of the passengers, giving them the priv- 
ilege of climbing the Ghats and viewing the 
temples. From sunrise, daily, thousands of pil- 
grims come to bathe in the Ganges. The dy- 
ing are brought there, 
and have their mouths 
stopped with the sacred 




PRAYING BY THE RIVER GANGES. 



mud. Their dead bodies are burned by the 
side of the river, and their ashes flung into its 
current. Here the faithful come to pray. The 
crocodiles occasionally catch some unwary bather 
and devour him. 



246 THE ANSONS IN ASIATIC TEMPLES. 

Benares seemed to be, as Bertie quoted it from 
his Testament, "a city wholly given to idola- 
try." Devotees, pilgrims, and priests thronged 
the city. Temples were far more numerous than 
in any other city that they had seen, and it was 
easier to find an idol than a man, as was said of 
Athens of old time. Everywhere, the people 
made way to let the foreigners pass, not — as Ber- 
tie at iirst supposed — out of respect, but to avoid 
pollution. 

" Where are we going next ? " asked Bertie. 

"We shall stop at Lucknow and Cawnpore, 
where we shall see the scenes of the great Sepoy 
mutiny ; then we shall go on to Agra, and visit 
the great mausoleum, the beautiful monument to 
a loved wife, the Taj Mahal." 

"What is the Taj Mahal?" asked Mrs. Anson. 

" It is the sort of monument I should like to 
build, to show the world the depth of a hus- 
band's love for his wife. It is a beautiful 
building of marble, not very large, but wonder- 
fully well built. I will tell you the story : 



OVERLAND THEOUGH INDIA. 247 

"A Mohammedan ruler of India, Shah Jehan, 
was married in 1615 to Princess Mumtaz-i-Ma- 
hal. She died in 1629. The Mogul determined 
to build the most magnificent monument that 
man could conceive of. For twenty-two years, 
twenty thousand workmen were engaged in erect- 
ing the building. It cost more than fifteen mil- 
lions of dollars to build it. It has been called 
the jewel of India. An American traveler 
wrote, as I noted it in a fly-leaf in my guide- 
book here: *As you approach it, it is not ex- 
posed abruptly to view, but is surrounded by a 
garden. You enter under a lofty gateway, and 
before you is an avenue of cypresses, a third of 
a mile long, whose dark foliage is a setting for a 
form of dazzling whiteness at the end. That is 
the Taj. It stands, not on the level of your 
eye, but on a double terrace; the first, of red 
sandstone, twenty feet high, and one thousand 
feet broad, at the extremities of which stand 
two mosques, of the same dark stone, facing 
each other. Midway between, rises the second 



248 THE AXSOXS IN ASIATIC TEMPLES. 

terrace, of marble, fifteen feet bigb, and three 
hundred feet square, on the corners of which 
stand four marble minarets. In the centre of 
all, thus "reared in air,^' stands the Taj. It is 
built of marble — no other material than this, of 
pure and stainless white, was fit for a purpose so 
sacred. It is one hundred and fifty feet square — 
or, rather, it is eight-sided, since the corners are 
truncated — and surmounted by a dome, which 
rises nearly two hundred feet above the pave- 
ment below.' 

"But we shall see it for ourselves, and we are 
losing some of this pretty scenery through which 
we are passing." 

After a few days at each of the places of which 
Mr. Anson had spoken, and when their fondest 
expectations had been far surpassed, they con- 
tinued on their journey to Delhi. The Ansons, 
when they reached Delhi, took rooms at the 
Northbrooke Hotel, kept by a European. All 
of the country hereabouts is full of interesting 
objects connected with the occupation of India 



OVERLAND THROUGH INDIA. 249 

by the English. Mr. Anson felt that, in the 
uncertainty of Mrs. Anson's health, it would be 
better to devote their attention chiefly to the 
temples and mission work of the cities where 
they stopped, and to give but a passing glance 
at historic sites. 

"What is that great building yonder?" asked 
Bertie, one morning, as they passed out of the 
Chandni-Chowk, the bazar street of Delhi. 

" It looks like a temple, yet it is unlike a 
Hindu temple in its style,'' answered his father. 

" We will go near to it and find out." Look- 
ing through an opera-glass, Mr. Anson could 
make out certain strange characters carved on 
the sides of the entrance. "I do not know 
what that is; these are not Hindu letters." 

"Let me see, if you please, papa," asked 
Bertie. 

"Certainly, my son; but I think that you 
cannot read them either." 

Bertie looked through the glass at them, and 
after a moment's thouo;ht, said : 



250 THE ANSONS IN ASIATIC TEMPLES. 

"I remember seeing something like them in 
your ^Arabian Nights Entertainment/ papa." 
"Let me see again, my son. Yes, you are 




GRAND MOSQUE OP DELHI. 



right; they are Mohammedan letters. This 

must be a Mohammedan Mosque. We had 

better go back to the hotel and get a guide.'' 

It was the Jam'i Masjid, the Great Mosque, 



OVERLAND THROUGH INDIA. 251 

one of the finest in all India, before which they 
had been standing. With the guide they re- 
turned and climbed up the forty steps — as Bertie 
counted them — that led to the magnificent gate- 
way. The gates were overlaid with plates of 
brass. Passing through the gateway, they stood 
Avithin a court about three hundred feet square. 
In the centre is a marble fountain and basin. 
Climbing to the top of one of the minarets with 
the guide, Bertie looked down upon the rest 
from the dizzy height, and had a most extensive 
view of Delhi and all the surrounding country. 
When he returned, one of the Moslem priests 
took them through the mosque. After a little 
talk w^ith the guide, the priest took them to one 
side, and slowly and reverently unlocked the 
door of a little closet cut into the solid marble. 
He opened a casket with great care, and showed 
to the visitors — a single hair from Mohammed's 
beard. To see only a hair sadly disappointed 
Bertie. All the show of mystery and caution 
had led him to expect some great thing. 



252 THE A.NSOXS IN ASIATIC TEMPLES. 

"Pshaw! only a hair! Who knows if it is 
really Mohammed^s?^^ he exclaimed. 

"This astonishes me/' said Mr. Anson to his 
wife, " that these Mohammedans should indulge 
in relic- worship, when Mohammed was so fierce 
a hater of idols and relics." 

The building is of marble and red sandstone. 

On another day, an excursion was made to the 
gigantic Kuttub Minar, a sort of tower or spire 
rising right out of the ground to a height of tw^o 
hundred and forty feet. Standing in the midst 
of a vast plain, it seems much higher. It is 
about one hundred and forty feet in circumfer- 
ence at the base, and about twenty-seven feet at 
the top. Bands of inscriptions are carved in its 
sides of red sandstone, and it is, in all respects, 
a beautiful minaret. Its use, like that of all 
other minarets, probably, was for the Moslem 
priests to call the people to prayer. 

From Delhi, the Ansons proceeded to Alla- 
habad, and thence, without any delay, to Bom- 
bay. Just such scenes as one may see in cross- 




(254) 



THE FAKIR OF THE LONG UAIR. 



OVEKLAND THROUGH INDIA. 255 

ing the Alleghany Mountains, in Pennsylvania, 
were to be seen from the car windows, after 
leaving Jubbulpur, where a change of cars had 
been made. Notwithstanding the beautiful and 
romantic scenery, it was a pleasure to be settled 
in the hotel at Bombay. In a week or ten days 
the Ansons would bid farewell to India, and 
these last days must be crowded with sight- 
seeing. 

Bombay "Vvas a city of temples. Holy men 
of all sorts seemed to abound. One order of 
priests, so Bertie learned, seemed bent on trying 
to see how many curious ways of self-torture 
they could devise. These were the Fakirs. 
One Fakir had a huge iron collar forged 
about his neck; another, whose long hair, as 
Bertie suggested, would furnish a safe hiding- 
place for the pestiferous insect that the man 
seemed to be trying to find as the Ansons passed 
him, had iron bands on his arms and ankles; 
another had held his arms immovably fixed 
above his head, while pious (?) people fed him. 



256 THE ANSONS IN ASIATIC TEMPLES. 

These men hope in this way to obtain favor 
with the gods, and the people rather respect 
and fear them, on account of their supposed 




DYING BKAIXMIN AND SACliKl) CO\V. 

holiness. Truly in Indian minds, "cleanliness 
is" not "akin to godliness." 



OVERLAND THROUGH INDIA. 257 

"Why, mamma, look at that man and the 
others standing around him. See, they are 
trying to keep his hand on the cow's tail," 
said Bessie, as they stepped within a temple, 
in the very heart of Bombay. 

"He must be dying," said Mr. Anson; "he 
looks like it." 

"Do they thiok that taking hold of the cow's 
tail will make him well ? " asked Bertie. 

"I do not know. We shall have to ask 
somebody to tell us. I wonder if any of these 
men can speak English. A great many of the 
Hindus of Bombay can, I know. I will ask 
that one standing alone." Then Mr. Anson 
drew near a poorly-clad, but intelligent looking 
Hindu. 

"Do you speak English ?" 

"Yes, master, a leetle. I go Christian school 
sometime. I merchant's errand-boy." 

"Can you tell me what that means?" — 
pointing to the sick man and the cow. 

"Yes, he sick man; he Brahmin, high caste 

R 



258 THE AlfSOJS^S IN ASIATIC TEMPLES. 

man. He dying. That cow, holy cow. He 
keep hold of cow tail, will take him into — 
what you say? '^ and he pointed upward. 

" Heaven ? ' added Mr. Anson. 

"Yes, heaven. I no believe that." 

"No, no," said Mr. Anson; "you believe 
in Jesus Christ; you try to please him; then 
you go to heaven. I thank you for telling 
me what that means," as he slipped some pice 
— the Indian coin — into the man's hand. 

On rejoining the group he explained it all to 
them. 

" Isn't it pitiable ! such superstition ! " re- 
marked Mrs. Anson; "and they might know 
better, if they would but listen to the mis- 
sionaries." 

"Well, good-bye, India!" exclaimed Bertie, 
as, a day later, the steamer bore them out of 
the harbor. 

"God bring you light!" said Mr. Anson. 

It was a bright moonlight evening, and, as 



OVERLAND THEOUGH INDIA. 259 

if in confirmation of his wish, he saw a sight- 
in the sky, whither his eye had been turned. 
The floating clouds had seemingly massed them- 
selves until they had assumed the shape of 
India, the edge clearly marked all the way 
from Arabia around by Ceylon, and up to Ben- 
gal, and then rounding again down to Burmah. 
As he looked, the edge alone was marked with 
a line of light. It seemed like a saying, ^^So 
is India lighted, but upon its edge, as it were.'' 
Just then, the full moon sailed out from behind 
the clouds, and threw its radiance full on the 
face of the cloud, and lo, India was bright with 
light, like all the rest of the clouds. 

'^So may it be! so shall it be!'' thought 
Mr. Anson. That vision he never forgot. 



CHAPTER XYI. 

7xV MOSLEM LANDS. 

rriHERE were so many English passengers on 
the steamer who were going home, that a 
little tinge of home-longing touched the hearts 
of the other passengers. The voyage was a very 
quiet one. The heat was intense, so that the 
passengers spent most of the days and nights on 
deck ; it seemed to be getting yet more uncom- 
fortable as they approached the coast of Arabia 
and the entrance to the Red Sea. Aden is about 
ninety miles from the Straits of Bab-el Mandeb, 
the beginning: of the Red Sea. ^yllen the vessel 
cast her anchor, scores of little boats, each with 
one or two Somali boys, paddled about the ship, 
crying, "Overboard! overboard!" 

"What do they mean, papa?" asked Bertie. 

"I do not know; let us wait and see." 

Just then an Englishman flung a small coin 
260 



IN MOSLEM LANDS. 261 

into the water; immediately each boat lost one 
boy, as they dived into the water after the 
money. At this moment, a fellow passenger 
said : 

"The captain has posted the notice of sail- 
ing." 

At once, most of the passengers turned to the 
stairway leading to the dining-hall, and then got 
themselves in readiness to go ashore, to escape 
from the heat aboard ship, and from the dust 
stirred up while the steamer took in coal. They 
found Aden to be the Gibraltar of Asia. Water 
is sold in Aden, because it is so precious; for 
there are no wells, or springs, or rivers. 

Leaving Aden, and entering the straits, the 
steamer was upon the Red Sea. It seemed to 
Bertie that they were entering upon a sacred 
part of the earth. 

"Why do they call this the Red Sea?'' asked 
Bessie. " The water is not red." 

" !No," said Mr. Anson ; " but the hills around 
are red, and the weeds yonder are red." 



262 THE ANSOIsS IN ASIATIC TEMPLES. 

If it was hot in India, it was hotter on the 
Indian Ocean, and hottest on the Red Sea. To 
Mrs. Anson, the heat was so oppressive that it 
seemed as if she must die. Tiie strong wind 
that blew from the south was almost scorching. 
But when about one-third the way through the 
Red Sea, they met the fresh breeze from ihe 
north, which is usually blowing strongly, and it 
greatly revived all the weak passengers. At the 
first, the thermometer in the cabin was up to 
100°, but the third day it became so cool that 
the passengers shivered in their overcoats. 

In passing Jeddah, the port of Mecca, Mr. 
Anson took occasion to tell the story of Moham- 
med, the Arabian camel-driver, who founded a 
great religion. Mohammedanism overran India, 
though it has since almost entirely lost its power 
in that country; it conquered, also, Arabia, 
Northern Africa, including Egypt; and crossed 
into Spain, where the Moors were finally con- 
quered by the Spanish Christians ; and it over- 
ran Turkey. 



IN MOSLEM LANDS. 263 

"In Mecca, Mohammed's birthplace/' contin- 
ued Mr. Anson, "is the ^ Caaba,' or shrine, with 
the famous 'Black Stone,' which the Moslems, 
or Mohammedans, or Mussulmans, as they are 
variously called, believe to have been brought 
from heaven by angels. Mecca is seventy miles 
from Jeddah, and thousands of Moslems make 
pilgrimages to Mecca every year." 

" Can we go there ? " asked Bertie. 

"No, indeed; any foreigner caught entering 
the city would certainly be stoned to death." 

In entering the Gulf of Suez, one arm of the 
Red Sea, Mr. Anson pointed out to his family 
Mt. Sinai. Through the captain's glass, they 
could see but few signs of vegetation, and it 
seemed, indeed, a "wilderness." 

"Now we shall soon cross over the spot — 
though no one knows to a certainty just where 
it is — where the Children of Israel, under Moses, 
crossed the Red Sea," said Mr. Anson. 

A few hours later, the steamer cast anchor 
some distance from the shore, just opposits Suez. 



264 THE ANSONS IN ASIATIC TEMPLES. 

Suez is a decayed- looking, ruinous town, having 
about fifteen thousand inhabitants. It owes all of 
its importance to the Suez Canal. There were 
several steamers anchored off Suez, awaiting 
their turn to enter the canal. The steamers 
must move slowly, so as not to break down 
the sides of the canal, and they must keep a 
certiiin distance apart. At regular intervals, 
there are turn-outs, like the switches and side- 
tracks on a railway, where the vessels pass one 
another. 

Many of the passengers took the train from 
Suez to Cairo. But Mr. Anson was afraid to 
prolong their stay in such an unhealthy climate 
as that of Egypt, and so kept with the steamer 
till it reached Port Said, at the end of the Suez 
Canal. Here he took a steamer, on which were 
hundreds of Moslem pilgrims returning from 
Mecca, and crossed the Mediterranean, passing 
by the island of Crete, and through the Grecian 
Archipelago, until the Hellespont, or Darda- 
nelles — across which Leander, and, many centu- 



IN MOSLEM LANDS. 265 

ries later, Lord Byron, swam — into the Sea of 
Marmora, and thence to Constantinople. 

"It seems to me," said Mrs. Anson, as they 
approached Constantinople, "that I have never 
seen any lovelier view than this. It is so bright, 
so varied in outline, and so gorgeous in splendid 
buildings. Those strange old fortifications, the 
roofs, the domes, the minarets of Stamboul'^ — as 
the main part of Constantinople is named — " on 
the left, and the cemeteries and the cypress 
groves on the Asiatic shores, the Bosphorus 
opening, and the scenery beyond, present, in- 
deed, a beautiful picture." 

"But wait a little," suggested one of their 
fellow-passengers, an English resident of Con- 
stantinople, "and a grander view than even this 
will be before you. There; now we shall go 
around the Seraglio Point into the Golden Horn. 
See, to the south, here, the seven low hills, 
crowned with their domes and slender minarets 
and odd-looking houses. Then, over on the 
north, in Galata, with its crowded buildings. 



266 THE ARSONS i:^ ASIATIC TEMPLES. 

and on the heights of Pera the splendid resi- 
dences of the European embassies. Behind us, 
now, we have left Scutari.'^ 

'^ It is, indeed, a specimen of Oriental splen- 
dor," said Mr. Anson. 

By the advice of their English acquaintance, 
they took rooms in the Hotel d'Angleterre, in 
Pera, to which they were taken by the agent of 
the hotel, who looked after their landing. 

Under the guidance of a "dragoman," or 
guide, the Ansons went to visit the Sultanas 
Seraglio, several of the mosques, and even across 
to Scutari, to see the Whirling Dervishes. On 
several of these occasions Mrs. Anson was com- 
pelled to remain in her room at the hotel; the 
fever seemed to have taken a fresh hold upon her. 
Mr. Anson was in some alarm about her, and it 
interfered not a little with his enjoyment. To 
the children, it seemed as if their mother was 
but weary; and the bright colors, the quaint 
buildings, the odd costumes, were a source of 
unvarying delight. 



IN MOSLEM LANDS. 



267 



Taking a carriage one morning, tliey crossed 
tlie New Harbor Bridge, and driving around by 
the railway depot, they passed tlie Seraglio, and 




MOSQUE OF ST. SOPHIA. 



stopped before the Mosque of St. Sophia, just 
adjoining. 

"The Sultan's women have not far to go to 
church," suggested Bertie. 

"Do you know why Constantinople is so 
called, Bertie?" asked Mr. Anson. 



r 



268 THE AXSOXS IX ASIATIC TEMPLES. 

"Yes, sir; after Constantine the Great. He 
founded the city, did he not?" 

"Oh, no," replied his father. "You will have 
to brush up jour history. It was founded nearly 
a thousand years before, -and was called Byzan- 
tium. Constantine simply adopted the ruined 
Byzantium as his capital, and raised it to a yet 
greater glory. Did you ever hear the story of 
the founding of Byzantium?" 

"No, sir." 

"I will tell it to you. IN^early seven hundred 
years before Jesus was born, some Megarian em- 
igrants asked their oracle to tell them where to 
found a new city. 'Found your city opposite 
the land of the blind men,' was the advice. 
They traveled to find the 'land of the blind 
men.' Wlien they came to Chalcedon — called 
Kadi Keui now — they at once perceived that 
the curving shores of the Golden Horn offered 
a site for a city far surpassing any place they 
had yet seen. Then they understood that the 
'blind men' were they who could not see the 



IN MOSLEM LANDS. 269 

advantages of the opposite shore. There they 
settled. St. Sophia — Sophia is the Greek word 
for wisdom, and refers to Jesus as the incarna- 
tion of wisdom — was, at the first, a Christian 
church. Its foundations were laid in the days 
of Constantine. It was destroyed several times, 
but was rebuilt with yet greater splendor. The 
emperor designed to surpass Solomon's Temple. 
The East was ransacked for beautiful marbles. 
Gold was used lavishly. The emperor said that 
an angel had revealed its plan in a dream. Now 
let us see it.'' 

The Ansons first removed their shoes and 
put on slippers, as all are required to do in 
entering Moslem mosques; then they went to 
the gallery from which they could have a view 
of the magnificent interior. 

"The great dome seems to hang in the air," 
said Bessie. "These beautiful columns come, 
so I have read, from many old temples in 
Egypt, Ephesus, and Athens. The building 
was sixteen years in erecting. When it was 



270 THE ANSOXS IX ASIATIC TEMPLES. 

finished, the emperor ran in, exclaiming : ^ God 
be praised, who hath esteemed me worthy to 
complete such a work. Solomon, I have sur- 
passed thee ! ' " 

Nearly an hour they tarried in the mosque, 
going from point to point ; now they stood be- 
fore the Mihrab, where the holy book, the 
Koran, is kept ; now they approached the altar, 
or walked around under the great dome, whose 
circumference was less than the space between 
the columns, and which truly seemed to hang in 
the air, without visible suj^ports. Whenever 
any Mohammedan came in to pray, he turned 
his face toward the Mihrab, and so to the south- 
east; the building being exactly square, and 
built in an exact line with the points of the 
compass, the worshipers thus oddly faced the 
corners of the mosque, and not the centre of 
the eastern side, where formerly stood the altar. 

When they stood without, Bertie called at- 
tention to the crescent over the dome. 

" That crescent is worth, so tliey say, fifty 



IN MOSLEM LANDS. 271 

thousand dollars in gold/' remarked Mr. 
Anson. 

^' What does the crescent mean ? '' asked 
Bertie. 

^^About four hundred years before, the Mace- 
donians had besieged the city of Byzantium. 
One dark night they intended to take the city 
by surprise. Just as they had commenced their 
assault, the clouds parted, and by the light of 
the crescent moon, the soldiers on the walls 
saw the enemy approaching. Thenceforth it 
became their symbol. When the Turks con- 
quered Constantinople, they adopted it as their 
symbol.^' 

Dismissing the carriage, they descended to the 
water's edge, and crossed in a small boat to 
Scutari, to the Ronfai Convent, where the 
Whirling Dervishes reside. It was just a little 
before one o'clock when they had arrived. The 
Dervishes entered and seated themselves in a 
circle, and prayed a short prayer five times 
over. Then rising, they began, at first slowly 



272 THE ANSONS IN ASIATIC TEMPLES. 

then more rapidly, to say, "ia ilah illallah/' 




THE WHIRLING DERVISHES. 



meaning, "there is no God but God/^ They 
pronounced it thus: ^^ La-i-lah-il-la-lahJ^ At 



IN MOSLEM LANDS. 273 

the first syllable they bowed forward, at the 
second stood straight, at the third bent back- 
ward, and so on. Kapidly and yet more rapidly 
they seesawed up and down. Then the sheik, 
or leader, began to stamp. At once they seemed 
to increase their motion four-fold, and began to 
whirl round and round, and bend up and down 
like crazy men. All this time they cried out 
their sentence, which now sounded like one 
"/aA," interrupted occasionally by ^'hoo! yah 
hoo ! " meaning, " He, He is God.'' By-and-by 
they joined hands and swung to and fro, with 
their long hair flying like a cloud. Finally, 
some fell down foaming at the mouth, others 
sw^ooned and were carried out. It became more 
than the Ansons could stand; Bertie's head 
seemed to be dizzy. 

When they reached the hotel, Mr. Anson was 
met at the door by a servant, who told him that 
Mrs. Anson had been so ill that they had had to 
call in the doctor. He hastened to his room and 
found the doctor there. 



CHAPTER Xyil. 

THE INVALID'S JOURNEY HOME. 

T AM Dr. Stevenson; this is Mr. Anson, I 
judge," spoke up the physician, quickly. 
"We have a rather sick lady here. Please tell 
me about her. I have but this moment reached 
here." 

"It was when we were in Siam* that my at- 
tention was first drawn to the fact that my wife 
was ill. I had thought, before that, that it was 
simply weariness." 

"Where did you come from, before reaching 
Siam ? " asked the doctor. 

"From Canton, China, where we lived for 
quite a little while on the banks of the river." 

"H'm, h'm, just so. The fever plainly. It 
is a hard thing for us Englishmen or Ameri- 
cans to stand the malarious atmosphere of such 

spots. I often wonder how the missionaries 
274 



THE invalid's JOURNEY HOME. 275 

manage to live there for years. But, to get to 
business, you had better get this lady away from 
here as soon as possible. You can go to Switz- 
erland, or you can go right to America. It will 
not require much more of an effort to cross the 
ocean, if she is a fair sailor." 

"She has generally been better on the water 
than ashore," said Mr. Anson. 

"So much the better. Get some thick cloth- 
ing ready, because you will be going to much 
colder latitudes. In the meanwhile, I will leave 
some medicine to act as a tonic for your wife. 
We cannot reach the cause of the trouble with 
medicine; that you will have to leave to the sea 
voyage to accomplish. How are you going 
home? Have you fixed on a plan?" 

"I had thought to take the Austrian Lloyd's 
mail steamer to Trieste, and thence by Venice, 
Milan, Turin, and across the Alps into France, 
and thence to England," replied Mr. Anson. 

" Have you bought tickets for that route ? " 

"No, for I have made no fixed plan yet." 



276 THE ANSONS IN ASIATIC TEMPLES. 

"You are wise not to have done so^ for one 
nev€r knows what may happen. I would sug- 
gest that you take one of Burns and Mclver's 
first-class Liverpool steamers, and go all the 
way to America by water. You can stop at 
Malta and Gibraltar. You can lie over in 
England as long as you please. However, there 
is no place like home; and, unless your wife 
gets thoroughly well, you had better go right 
on to the States." 

"Thank you, doctor; I will study the matter 
over. It is almost certain that I will do as you 
suggest." 

In a week Mrs. Anson was able to leave her 
bed, and they were soon sailing away from 
Asia to the home-land westward. The voyage 
through the Mediterranean was especially enjoy- 
able, for the air was balmy and mild, and the 
sea smooth. Daily, Mrs. Anson was carried on 
deck, and carefully screened from the sun's rays 
and from draughts of air. She thus mended 
rapidly. The rest of the family hung about the 



THE invalid's JOUENEY HOME. 277 

convalescent, now reading to her, now chatting 
with her, now singing in concert, now discussing 
the journey over which they had come, or fore- 
casting their arrival at home. They never 
wearied when talking over the various interest- 
ing things they had seen from the day when 
they first started for their long tour. Of course 
they found that the hours flew apace. 

At Malta, Bertie and his father paid a flying 
visit to St. John's Cathedral, with the Crusaders' 
graves. They climbed the fortress towers, to ob- 
tain the beautiful view over the harbors. Four 
days later, Gibraltar was reached. The six 
hours' stay of the steamer was utilized by Mr. 
Anson and Bertie to visit the castle and the 
formidable batteries. The time was too short 
to allow them to climb the heights of the 
Rock of Gibraltar, towering upward to a 
height of twelve hundred feet. 

The glassy green ocean now appeared, chang- 
ing from the deep blue of the sea. Without 
any delay, the Ansons reached liiverpool with 



278 THE ANSONS IN ASIATIC TEMPLES. 

but time to be transferred to the Cunarder about 
to start for New York. Unvarying kindness 
was shown on both the steamers to the invalid 
lady. A very pleasant friendship had sprung 
up between the passengers and officers, on the 
longer voyage from Constantinople to Liver- 
pool. It was with genuine regret that they 
parted company at Liverpool. 

A few days after leaving Queenstown, Ireland, 
Mrs. Anson was lying upon her easy sea-chair, 
knitting. Bertie sat by her side, reading his 
Bible. 

" What are you reading, my son ? Read it to 
me, will you not ? " 

"I was reading the seventeenth chapter of 
John's Gospel, and I stopped reading and be- 
gan thinking over this verse : ' As thou hast 
sent me into the world, even so have I sent them 
into the world.' " 

"What did you think of it?" asked his 
mother. 

"Why, that Jesus was a foreign missionary. 



THE invalid's JOUENEY HOME. 279 

Then I thought that his disciples were to be like 
him, and to go into the world too. But, mam- 
ma, all Christians can't go.'^ 

"No, my son; some only can go, and some 
must send them. Your papa could not go; I 
suppose'' — with a smile — "that I should get too 
sick, if I were to go, even if your papa was not 
my husband." 

"Well, mamma, how can anybody know cer- 
tainly just whether he ought to go, or to stay ? " 

"Let us be frank with each other, Bertie. 
Are you thinking of yourself?" 

"Why, yes, mamma, I believe I am." 

"You are a Christian, yourself, my son. That 
is the first thing. You cannot tell the gospel to 
others until you have experienced its power your- 
self. Then, too, you have tried — I have seen it 
when you thought I did not notice it — to per- 
suade some of your school friends to be Chris- 
tians." 

"Why, of course, mamma; I could npt help 
that," interrupted Bertie. 



280 THE ANSONS IN ASIATIC TEMPLES. 

"That is just it; you did it so naturally that 
it shows that you have the missionary spirit. 
Now, the next thing is, where are you most 
needed, and for what work are you most fitted? 
These are two most important questions. I do 
not know that you are old enough to answer the 
last question. One moment, papa" — calling to 
Mr. Anson, who was leisurely pacing the deck — 
*^ can you help us ? " And she detailed the con- 
versation thus far. 

" Why," said he, " Bertie's character has so far 
shown itself that I think we can determine if he 
has, even undeveloped as yet, the germs of those 
qualities needed for missionary work at home 
and abroad. He has a sound body for a foun- 
dation." 

" Yes," added his wife, " we have taken pains 
with that from babyhood." 

"Then, too," continued Mr. Anson, "he 
seemed to pick up quite easily the German, as 
it is spoken in the German quarter of our town. 
He gets along fairly well at school. I do not 



THE invalid's JOURNEY HOME. 281 

know that he lacks any of the qualifications 
needed by a foreign missionary, except such as 
may be given him in the course of his educa- 
tion/' 

" Well, we can let that stand. How about the 
need for missionaries?'' asked Mrs. Anson. 

"Well, there are needy fields in the territories 
and in the large cities in the Eastern States," 
said Mr. Anson. 

"But," said Bertie, "there are none as needy 
as the countries of Asia, and the great cities 
other than the ones where the steamers stop. It 
seems to me, papa, that the people are so low, so 
superstitious, so wicked, that they ought to have 
more missionaries to preach to them about Jesus, 
I can't call to mind the beautiful temples we 
have seen without thinking of the way they wor- 
ship in them, and the idols to whom they pray. 
I think of it most of the time." 

"Perhaps God is leading you towards giving 
yourself to be a missionary. You must ask him 
about it." 



282 THE ANSONS IN ASIATIC TEMPLES. 

"I have, papa; and I will keep on asking/' 

"I believe/^ added Mrs. Anson, "tliat the 
noble example of the godly men whom we met 
on our tour, and their earnest work, has made 
me feel an intense interest in their work, and 
that it has impressed Bertie also." 

"I do not doubt it," said Mr. Anson. 

Just then the gong sounding for luncheon 
interrupted the conversation. 

That same evening, chancing to be alone, the 
parents began to talk of the morning's conver- 
sation. 

"I do not question that our Heavenly Father 
is leading Bertie to be willing to give himself to 
Christ's service in heathen lands, and that it will 
come about that, unless something should inter- 
pose, we shall see our boy a foreign missionary/' 
Mrs. Anson said. 

"God grant it! even if it be hard for us to 
send him far from us," answered Mr. Anson. 

*'But I have been thinking of Bessie. She, 
too, seems impressed by what she has seen, and 



THE invalid's JOUENEY HOME. 283 

those whom she has met. Yet she has said 
nothing about becoming a missionaiy.^' 

^'Well, my dear wife, we do not know what 
has been passing in her mind. Neither do we 
know but that God will let the seeds sown in 
this journey lie in her heart until some later 
occurrence may develop them. In the mean- 
while, I am sure that our little Mission Band 
will be the better by having had its representa- 
tives in foreign lands.'' 

We need not follow the Ansons to their home 
in Illinois. They w^ere welcomed with joy by 
the people of their congregation, both old and 
young. For awhile, there seemed danger lest 
Mr. Anson should be overtaxed by the demands 
upon him from other churches to come and tell 
of his travels. Finally, however, he reduced it 
to system; and many were the times that he 
thanked God for the privilege he had enjoyed 
of seeing for himself the mission work of Asia, 
and for the further privilege of telling others 
what he had seen and learned on his long tour. 



284 THE ANSONS IN ASIATIC TEMPLES. 

He soon saw the results, in an increased interest 
in the great work among the members of the 
churches that he visited. 

It was nearly a year before Mrs. Anson's 
health was fully restored. Her experience in 
this direction enabled both her husband and 
herself to sympathize more fully than they 
could otherwise have done with invalided mis- 
sionaries. 



THE END. 



